Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday reassured Israelis that he would not permit the International Criminal Court in the Hague to impede Israel’s determination to invade Rafah and eliminate the Hamas leadership which is thought to be holed up there.
Israeli officials fear that a massive IDF action in Rafah would result in an eruption of lawfare attacks on the Jewish State, especially in the Hague ICC, and could lead the court to issue a cease-fire order. These officials also expect South Africa to use a Rafah operation, as it has done on similar occasions in the recent past, and launch a new demand for the court to censure Israel.
Meanwhile, the political and legal echelons in Israel are preparing for the Hague court possibly issuing arrest warrants against Israeli senior officials.
Netanyahu tweeted on Friday:
Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the Hague Criminal Court to undermine its fundamental right to defend itself.
The threat against IDF soldiers and public figures in Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and the only Jewish state in the world, is scandalous.
We will not give in to them.
Israel will continue until the victory in our just war against the abominable terrorists who seek to destroy us.
We will never stop defending ourselves.
While the Hague Tribunal’s decisions will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and public figures of any democracy fighting criminal terrorism and dangerous aggression.
On Sunday, Israel is expected to submit to the International Court of Justice in The Hague a new report per the order of the Court, focusing on the humanitarian measures that Israel has been taking in the Gaza Strip during the war.
The prosecutor at the ICC, Karim A. A. Khan, is British, and the UK is a significant member of the court, perhaps the most influential among Israel’s friends at the Hague. The deputy prosecutors are Mame Mandiaye Niang from Senegal and Nazhat Shameem Khan from the UK.
Speaking of the UK, on Saturday, the BBC reported that the British government is considering deploying its military to drive humanitarian aid trucks from the causeway of the newly-built pier in Gaza to the shore. There was no confirmation from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office, and the BBC story cited only unidentified government sources.
