The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has defended the issuance of arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense chief, emphasizing that the country has failed to investigate war crimes allegations independently.
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Karim Khan stated that the ICC had observed “no real effort” by Israel to undertake “action that would meet the established jurisprudence.” Khan expressed hope for a shift in Israel’s approach, calling for greater accountability.
Last November, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war on Gaza.
An Israeli investigation could have led to the case being returned to Israeli courts under complementary principles. Khan said Israel could still demonstrate its willingness to investigate, even after issuing warrants.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, is also not a member of the ICC. Last week, the US Congress voted to sanction the court in protest against the warrants, a move Khan described as “unwanted and unwelcome”.
Khan said Israel had very good legal expertise, but had not used its judges, prosecutors and legal instruments “to properly scrutinize the allegations that we’ve seen in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
‘Manipulation and procrastination’
Khan’s comments came a day after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal in Gaza following more than 460 days of war.
Under pressure from hardliners in his government, who say the war has not achieved its objective of wiping out Hamas, Netanyahu delayed key meetings of the security cabinet and the cabinet, which were supposed to vote on the deal on Thursday.
The security cabinet approved the ceasefire on Friday, paving the way for government ministers to vote on the deal in a full cabinet meeting.
It was unclear when the full cabinet would convene for the vote. A report in The Times of Israel said the second meeting would only be held on Saturday night. Full ratification would come after a mandatory 24-hour grace period to raise objections, raising the possibility that the ceasefire will not come into effect on Sunday as initially planned.
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu had exhausted all options to prevent a ceasefire from being implemented.
“He manipulated and tried to postpone it and to procrastinate because his main goal was to keep his government together. But it is very clear now that he cannot maneuver anymore,” he said.
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