A number of senior Israeli officials suggested that the International Criminal Court would direct orders to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and a group of Israeli army commanders during the 2014 Gaza war.
Today, Friday, the Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" quoted the officials - whose names were not mentioned - as saying that the international court "may issue arrest warrants for about 10 Israeli political and military officials if it initiates an investigation into the Palestinian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories," adding that these officials. They could be exposed to risk in a few years or a few months, in the worst case scenario. "
The Israeli newspaper classified the officials expected to be tried into 3 categories, including the first of those who participated in decisions related to the 2014 Gaza war, the Gaza border crisis 2018 (March of Return), and settlement activity since June 2014, noting that "the court can target a small number of Other officers whose names were revealed in the Israeli army investigations or media leaks. "
The newspaper considered that "the worst case for Israel" is the settlement project that has been going on since 2014, and said that "the main officials who could be in the hot seat are the ministers responsible for the settlements, and they are the ministers of construction and housing since 2014 until now."
"This could include Uri Ariel, Yefat Shasha Biton, Jacob Litzman, Yitzhak Cohen and Yoav Gallant," she added.
The newspaper pointed out that the defense ministers during this period may also fall into trouble, because they used the Israeli army to maintain or establish various settlements.
"It is also possible that the regional councils that have approved construction in settlements will be revealed," she said.
In this regard, she pointed out that Israel "will try to say that building settlements is not a war crime."
Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate that there are about 650,000 Israelis in the West Bank settlements - including occupied Jerusalem - living in 164 settlements and 124 outposts.
On Wednesday, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, announced the opening of an official investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, which was strongly criticized by Israel, while the United States opposed it.
Palestine had asked the International Criminal Court to investigate files, namely the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, the violations that accompanied the return marches on the borders of the Strip, settlements, and prisoners in Israeli prisons.
It is noteworthy that the International Criminal Court investigates officials and not states. It has previously decided that its legal jurisdiction covers the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.