The spokesperson for the International Criminal Court (ICC) clarified on Sunday the conditions under which the arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant could be suspended. According to Fadil Abdullah, ICC intervention is only justified when the national justice system fails to carry out meaningful investigations.
“If there is no serious investigation by the national justice system, then the court must investigate and prosecute,” Abdullah said in an interview with UN News. He also clarified the mechanism for suspending proceedings: “The State or the suspect may request the Court to stop the proceedings, but this request must be supported by evidence demonstrating the existence of serious and genuine proceedings at the national level .”
According to information revealed this weekend by Kan News, senior Israeli officials indicate that the simple creation of a national commission of inquiry would not be enough to obtain the automatic cancellation of the arrest warrants. Faced with this situation, Israel is considering several strategies to challenge the Hague decision.
Among the options considered are diplomatic approaches, contesting the jurisdiction of the ICC, emphasizing the independence of Israeli investigative and law enforcement authorities, as well as resorting to American support to exercise greater pressure on the Court.
Israel’s position is based in particular on the argument that its judicial system is capable of carrying out independent and reliable investigations, a crucial element in contesting the jurisdiction of the ICC according to the principle of complementarity which governs its functioning.
Morocco
