Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara held meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about preventing the International Criminal Court (ICC) from issuing arrest warrants, in which she pressured him to form an independent commission to investigate the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports on Thursday.
Netanayhu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are both facing arrest warrants by the ICC for several crimes, including “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare,” “Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health… or cruel treatment”, “Wilful killing… or Murder”, “Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,” “Extermination and/or murder… in the context of deaths caused by starvation,” “Persecution” and “Other inhumane acts.”
If the ICC issues warrants for the two, they will face serious issues traveling abroad to any country that has accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction. This includes several major Western countries such as the UK, France, and Germany, but notably not the US.
The ICC is not meant to prosecute cases against countries with functioning independent judiciaries; in those cases, it is meant to allow the local judiciary an opportunity to prosecute the crimes.
Normally, this would be a legal requirement in those states. However, Israel has never accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction and thus is reluctant to cede any sovereignty to the court.
Applying pressure
Baharav-Miara is reported to be pressuring Netanyahu to establish an independent investigative commission as a way to get ahead of the ICC and prevent it from issuing arrest warrants.
Netanyahu has been against the formation of such a commission. However, he was reported to have been told that for the commission to be convincing, it must be independent.
As a matter of Israeli law, such commissions are headed by a retired Supreme Court judge who chooses the remaining members.
Haaretz reports that this is one of the primary issues as Netanyahu fears that former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut will be selected. However, Haaretz also said that Netanyahu fears that creating a weaker government-controlled commission would lead to serious public backlash.
According to Ynet, the Attorney-General and Netanyahu met with several other cabinet members, including Defense Minister Gallant, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegby.
Ynet reported that Netanyahu was preparing to announce an independent commission, although the Prime Minister’s Office denied the report.
A few days before the reported meeting, Amit Becher, the head of the Israel Bar Association, defended the legal system, saying that it was independent and that several of the issues under investigation by the ICC were already under investigation by the local judiciary.
According to him, 74 investigations relating to the war are currently underway, underscoring that the legal system has not hesitated to prosecute sitting ministers, the prime minister, and the president, some of whom were convicted and imprisoned.
