Israeli officials raise alarm over looming ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu & Co.

Five Israeli and foreign officials said that Tel Aviv is concerned about reports that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants against its top leadership.

During a conversation with The New York Times, the officials mentioned that they believe the ICC is also weighing arrest warrants against leaders of Hamas.

However, the officials noted that the international court could potentially be accused of preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and pursuing an “extremely harsh” response to the October 7 attacks conducted by Hamas in Southern Israel.

PM Netanyahu under the radar 

Two of the five Israeli officials stated they think Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be named in a warrant. However, they were uncertain about who exactly would be charged by Hamas and what crimes would be cited in their arrest warrants.

While the officials raised warnings about the matter, they did not disclose the nature of the information that led them to be concerned. The ICC also did not comment on the floating reports.

It is important to note that any arrest would require approval from a panel of judges and would not necessarily result in a trial or even the targets’ immediate arrest.

How is Israel coping with this?

Amid the reports of a looming arrest warrant, Tel Aviv is making a concerted effort to head off feared plans by the ICC. In a conversation with The Times of Israel, an Israeli official revealed that the country’s National Security Council is leading the campaign in this regard.

“We are operating where we can,” said the diplomat adding that Israel’s Foreign Ministry is also involved in this endeavour. While Netanyahu’s office did not comment on the matter, the Israeli premier issued a message for ICC on X, formally known as Twitter.

“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defence. The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it,” Netanyahu wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.

“Israel will continue to wage to victory our just war against genocidal terrorists and we will never stop defending ourselves. While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression,” he furthered.

While it is still not clear whether the Israeli administration will receive an arrest warrant or not, it is safe to say that the Netanyahu regime is concerned about what the ICC has to say.

With inputs from agencies.