ICC X Netanyahu: Understand the case

International press reports state that the International Criminal Court, ICC, is about to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (photo). To understand the case, Crusoe organized questions and answers.

Could Netanyahu be arrested?
Israel is not part of the International Criminal Court, a court in The Hague, Netherlands, that tries people accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Because of this, Israel is not obligated to hand Netanyahu over to this court. There are also no voices within the Israeli government advocating for this to happen. But Netanyahu may have trouble traveling to countries that are signatories to the ICC, such as European nations and Brazil.

If Israel is not part of the ICC, can its authorities be tried by it?
Yes, because the ICC has adopted the “territorial jurisdiction“. According to this concept, when a possible crime occurs in a country or territory that is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, its possible perpetrators can be tried by the Court. This is what allowed the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Although Russia has not signed the Rome Statute, Ukraine has. Israel is not part of the ICC, but the Palestinian Authority is. Therefore, possible crimes committed in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank could end up in The Hague.

What is the evidence that Israel committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip?
The ICC did not comment on what the charge against Netanyahu would be. A newspaper report New York Times speculates, based on interviews with five Israeli and foreign officials, that the accusation had to do with preventing the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. But the Israeli government did not allow ICC officials to enter the Gaza Strip to collect information, which should prolong the investigations. In the Russian invasion of Ukraine, investigations were facilitated because Ukraine allowed ICC officials to enter to analyze the allegations.

Will Hamas also be accused?
Reports say that leaders of the terrorist group are also being investigated. But it is not known which terrorists would be named and what crimes they would be charged with.

Could Netanyahu be tried even when he was absent, in The Hague?
No. One of the rules of the ICC is that defendants cannot be tried.”in absentia“. The ICC also does not have police powers to detain people in its 124 member countries. To be judged, Netanyahu would have to be sent by the Israeli government or by any country he passes through during a trip.

What impact could an arrest warrant have on the war against Hamas?
The terrorist group would certainly understand this as a moral victory and a way to weaken Israel. Future action by the Israeli government in Rafah, south of Gaza, would be viewed with suspicion by Western allies. Support from the American government, through President Joe Biden, would become more recalcitrant, as the Democrat will seek re-election in November.