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Legal Experts Warn Netanyahu, Army Generals of ICC Arrest Order

A Palestinian family mourns death of one of its members during demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel border (Reuters)
A Palestinian family mourns death of one of its members during demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel border (Reuters)
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Legal Experts Warn Netanyahu, Army Generals of ICC Arrest Order

A Palestinian family mourns death of one of its members during demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel border (Reuters)
A Palestinian family mourns death of one of its members during demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel border (Reuters)

A group of prominent international law experts in Tel Aviv has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his ministers, and top army generals of the implications of a potential International Criminal Court war crimes investigation.

They also said The Hague will most probably issue secret arrest warrants against Israeli officials if the ICC decides to open an investigation on practices of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians.

According to senior political sources, this warning has officially been given during the Cabinet session on Wednesday but was only disclosed on Sunday.

The cabinet also discussed the consequences of ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s announcement of her intention to open an investigation into operations carried out by Hamas, including the firing of rockets towards populated areas.

The ministers further discussed the economic implications of the ICC probe, as well as the harm the move could inflict on Israel’s international image.

This news was affirmed on Sunday in a report published by the pro-Netanyahu newspaper, Israel Hayom.

It said the ICC has 90 days to launch the investigation and if it does, more than a few Israeli officials may find that they are unable to visit some of the world’s most important nations, for fear they might be arrested and extradited to The Hague.

Legal experts reportedly told the cabinet that a stronger case could be made in The Hague over settlement construction, meaning that every Israeli official party to promoting construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem could potentially face the ICC.

Ramallah is also expected to pressure academic and cultural figures to refrain from visiting Israel, "so as not to appear as supportive of a state accused of alleged war crimes,” the newspaper reported.

According to international law, it is not just the leaders of the settlement movements who are war criminals but also whoever approved the construction of new neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

"The very fact that an ICC investigation will be launched will make Israel synonymous with the darkest regimes in Africa, where truly horrific war crimes have been committed. It’s unthinkable," the newspaper quoted a senior cabinet source as saying.

“The ICC will not discuss what is going on in Syria, Iran, or China, but it has no problem training its sights on us. This is a threat that requires a quick and crushing response,” he stressed.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.