According to the leading Israeli daily Haaretz, the Hebrew state is drawing up a secret list of politicians, soldiers and officials who could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it gives the green light. for the opening of an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the Palestinian Territories in 2014.
The newspaper, which has not released its sources, says in an article published on July 16 that the list would include the names of 200 to 300 people, including those of certain Israeli leaders who were in office during the last war with Gaza in 2014. Among them are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former ministers Moshe Yaalon, Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett, as well as the then former chief of staff Benny Gantz, now president of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament.
On December 20, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced her willingness to open a full investigation into possible "war crimes" committed in the Palestinian Territories in 2014. In 2015, a preliminary investigation was launched into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the wake of Operation "Protective Edge" in Gaza. A war which left 2,200 dead on the Palestinian side, including 1,500 civilians according to the UN, and 73 dead on the Israeli side, including 67 soldiers.
"An outrage"
However, Fatou Bensouda asked the ICC to "rule on the scope of the territorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the situation in Palestine", that is to say, to decide on the "territory" over which the Court can exercise its jurisdiction and which could be the subject of an investigation.
This decision, which should take place in the coming days according to the Israeli media, will revert to the three judges the preliminary chamber responsible for ruling on the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Palestinian Territories, the French Perrin de Brichambaut, the Hungarian Péter Kovács and the Beninese Queen Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou.
Israel had called "outrage" the approach of Fatou Bensouda, herself accused by Benjamin Netanyahu of having "transformed the ICC into a political tool to delegitimize the State of Israel".
Israeli officials reject the jurisdiction of the court and believe that "Palestine is not a state" and therefore the territories cannot fall under its jurisdiction. The Palestinian Authority acceded in 2015 to the Rome Statute - which governs the ICC -, unlike Israel, which, like China or the United States, is not a member of this international court.
It is in this context that the Israeli government is developing its list, because theoretically, in the event that the ICC declares itself competent and in the event that Israeli leaders are prosecuted, they would then be the subject of an international mandate. . The 123 countries which are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC would then be under the obligation to collaborate, arrest the persons concerned and surrender them to the Court.
A list that Haaretz should have kept secret, but not only for security reasons. Israeli officials feared that the disclosure of the mere existence of the list would be perceived by the ICC as a kind of official confession of the involvement of these people in the facts under investigation.
The fact remains that whatever the ICC's decision, the Hebrew State will refuse to collaborate with a court it does not recognize, even if regular contacts have taken place between the Israeli authorities and the office of the prosecutor at the preliminary inquiry.
Fatou Bensouda determined to continue her investigations
Especially since Fatou Bensouda does not intend to confine herself to the war of 2014. She announced, in December, that she could also conduct investigations into the use of non-lethal and lethal means by Israeli forces against the "return marches", demonstrations organized since March 2018 in Gaza. But also on the Israeli settlement policy, Fatou Bensouda estimating that "members of the Israeli authorities have committed war crimes", in particular by transferring Israeli civilians to the West Bank.
In a document, the prosecutor also mentioned her "concern" regarding the electoral promise of Benjamin Netanyahu on a future annexation of the Jordan Valley and settlement blocks located in zone C of the West Bank.
"Israeli officials have recently stated that the (annexation) decision could be taken at any time and that an official declaration of annexation of areas in the West Bank could further harm Israel's position in the proceedings," writes Haaretz .
In "L'Entr interview de France 24", broadcast on July 2, Fatou Bensouda assured that she was determined to continue her investigations, which also include examining the alleged crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian Territories, despite the pressure that the Hebrew State and the United States exercise jurisdiction over the Court.
In early June, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would try to prevent the ICC, recently threatened with sanctions by Washington, from launching an investigation against its Israeli ally. "We are determined to prevent the ICC from prosecuting our Israeli friends," he said in an interview with the American Enterprise Institute think tank, calling the court a "corrupt court".
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