Did Israeli spy threaten the ICC prosecutor?, 2

BY FR. SHAY CULLEN

THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is considering the request of the prosecutor, Karim Khan, to issue arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. They are facing allegations of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Hamas leaders, the men named in the BBC report are Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Qassam Brigades, its military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau. Mohammed Deif rejected the allegations claiming that they are the victims of Israeli aggression. They said that the prosecutor was “equating the victim with the executioner.”

Netanyahu and his defense minister said it is outrageous to equate them with Hamas. Gallant said that Israel is not a party to the court and does not recognize its authority.

Karim Khan, chief ICC prosecutor and British King’s Council, as reported by the BBC on 21 May said: “No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader – no one – can act with impunity.” The law, he says, cannot be applied selectively. If that happens, “we will be creating conditions for its collapse.”

The Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, commented that the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants indicated “Israel’s rapid decline into a moral abyss.” “The international community is signaling to Israel that it can no longer maintain its policy of violence, killing and destruction without accountability,” the B’Tselem spokesperson said. 

In 2015, the previous chief prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, began investigations on human rights violations and violence in Palestine and Gaza and she allegedly came under pressure from various sources to drop the investigation and was approached by Yossi Cohen, the chief of Israeli Intelligence known as Mossad. 

The Guardian newspaper reported this week on May 28, 2024 that ICC officials revealed that Cohen said to Fatou Bensouda: “You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.”

The Guardian also revealed that the Mossad chief had pressured Bensouda not to go ahead with the investigation into the allegations of rights violations in Palestine at different times. 

It was allegedly part of a 10-year campaign to undermine the credibility of the court and scare and intimidate. The tactics failed and resulted in the situation today where arrest warrants are pending against Netanyahu and his defense minister, much to the shock of the Israeli establishment and their backers in the United States and Europe./PN