Senior Israeli political and military officials are likely to be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court (ICC), after the court’s decision to launch an investigation into war crimes committed against Palestinians, according to a report released by Yedioth Ahronoth, on Sunday.
The newspaper pointed out that Benny Gantz, who served as a Chief of General Staff of the Israeli army during the 2014 war on Gaza, Moshe Ya’alon, who served as a Minister of Defense during the 2014 war, Gadi Eizenkot and Aviv Kochavi, who served as Chiefs of Staffs , as well as top former and current Israeli officials are all liable to prosecution on the ICC.
It also pointed out that the ICC intends to investigate PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman, Naftali Bennett, as well as ministers responsible for construction in the settlements.
According to the newspaper, the ICC’s decision was taken after five years of preliminary examination, due to the latest developments that included Netanyahu’s announcement of his intention to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, the U.S. State Department’s statement of legalizing settlement, as well as the prosecutor’s statement that she believes Israel has committed war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli newspaper noted, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that the Israeli government will not officially cooperate with the ICC, especially after condemning the decision by the United States.
On Friday, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said she would launch a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories as soon as the court’s jurisdiction had been established.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said a preliminary examination into alleged war crimes, opened in 2015, had provided enough information to meet all criteria for opening an investigation.
Palestinians welcomed the decision but Israeli occupation PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the ICC had no jurisdiction to investigate the Palestinian Territories.
