The Criminal Court in The Hague is targeting the leaders of Hamas and the leaders of Israel

If international arrest warrants for Hamas military leaders are seen as imminent, the same could soon happen for Israeli officials accused of having repeatedly violated the principle of “distinction, precaution and proportionality” in the reaction to Gaza. As far as it turns out Futurethe investigation also focuses on Israel’s operations in the West Bank, where illegal settler occupations are encouraged and protected by the Israeli armed forces and government officials.
The prosecutor’s office at the international court awaits the examination of the judges of the Court, called to evaluate the arrest requests which must be validated before their issuance in the international field. It is also for this reason that the Israeli media report the concern that rises to the top, in fear that among those under investigation there may even be Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Gallant and army commander Halevi. From little that is filtering out, the international prosecutor’s office in The Hague is working on a list of names on both sides. By the military leaders of Hamas in the Strip, including the impregnable Yahya Sinwar, held responsible for the crimes committed on October 7 against civilians in Israel, and who undoubtedly deal with the management of the hostages still in their hands. But the issue remains Israel, due to its excessive reaction on Gaza and having hindered the arrival of aid by land, as demonstrated by the airdrops to which Jordan and the USA themselves were forced. It was Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan who clarified this during his mission to Israel and Palestine. «With regard to Gaza, and despite the continued violations of international humanitarian law by Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip, the way in which Israel responds to these attacks – warned the Chief Prosecutor on December 5 – is subject to clear legal parameters governing armed conflicts.” Starting with the protection of hospitals hit by the raids in Tel Aviv even though there were civilians being treated inside. And this is precisely one of the charges on which international investigators are working. “Schools, hospitals, churches and mosques, homes are protected by law and must not be bombed”, added the prosecutor who had personally warned Israel: “I have clarified what the law says in terms of the principle of distinction, precaution and proportionality”. Not only that: «I have also made it abundantly clear that the law – the chief prosecutor had insisted – cannot be interpreted in a way that deprives it of meaning», when instead it is necessary to enforce the Geneva Convention, «i.e. protect the most vulnerable in society , newborns and children, the elderly and the infirm, civilian men and women.” In the evening Washington tried to patch things up. “The United States does not support the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Israel,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. “We don’t believe he has jurisdiction,” she added.

The investigation has nothing to do with the one promoted before the International Court of Justice by South Africa, which accuses Israel of “genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza”. In 2021, the International Criminal Court ruled that its criminal jurisdiction extends to the territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and had opened a formal investigation into endemic violence in the region since 2014. As a result of this decision, the Prosecutor’s Office is entitled to investigate war crimes committed both in Palestine by Israel and by Palestinians on Israeli territory. Even if Israel is not a state party to the Court, the prosecutor’s office has the obligation to investigate whether international crimes are committed by representatives of member countries and whether crimes are committed within the borders of member states by other countries.
But this time there is something new. The United States does not recognize the Hague Court. But Netanyahu’s attitude and the indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza have irritated Washington, which although not collaborating directly with The Hague, this time is not hindering the work of acquiring materials by the prosecutor’s office, which needs to turn to international organizations, including NATO, to steal information. The European Union, in words a staunch supporter of the Court, did not hide the embarrassment. Five states in particular (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Lithuania) criticized the court’s jurisdiction over Palestine. Others, such as Belgium, have instead secured additional funding of 5 million euros only for investigations into the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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