TEL AVIV — Israel is very concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior military officials as early as this week, an Israeli official said to NBC News.
Israel is working through diplomatic channels to try to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants, the official said Monday.
Asked about media reports on the arrest warrants, the ICC told NBC News that it is “conducting an ongoing independent investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine” and that “we have no further comment.” to be done at this stage.
The court opened an investigation three years ago into possible war crimes committed by Israeli and Palestinian militants dating back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. It has given no public indication that warrants are imminent. The arrest, and it was not clear whether Israel was also expecting arrest warrants for all Hamas leaders.
The news comes as pressure mounts on Israel to end its military offensive in Gaza, which Palestinian enclave officials say has killed more than 34,000 people since it was launched following the terrorist attacks led by Hamas on October 7.
Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden last night, and Israel is now awaiting a response from Hamas on a new ceasefire proposal.
Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, visited the region in December and said his investigation was “moving quickly, with rigor, with determination and with the insistence that we act not on the basis of our emotions but on the basis of solid evidence.
Any arrest warrant would not mean Netanyahu would end up in prison.
Neither Israel nor the United States recognizes the court’s jurisdiction, although any arrest warrant would put Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries, including much of Europe.
“As we have said publicly on several occasions, the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.
They would also constitute a high-profile statement on Israel’s actions in Gaza and constitute an embarrassing development that would place Netanyahu alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin as a major leader in the face of such ICC action.
Netanyahu said Friday that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.”
“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 comply,” he said in a message on X.
In a sign of the country’s concern, its Foreign Ministry said Sunday evening that it had informed Israeli missions of “rumors” that arrest warrants could be issued against senior Israeli officials.
Such a move, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, would “boost the morale” of Hamas and other militant groups.
The ICC – based in The Hague, Netherlands – can charge individuals with war crimes and other related charges. It is separate from the International Court of Justice, which reviews cases between states and is currently investigating whether Israel committed acts of genocide in Gaza.
Israel and the United States have rejected this accusation.
