Israel is drafting a secret list of military and intelligence officials who might be subjected to arrest abroad if the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, according to Israeli media.
According to Haaretz, this list now includes between 200 and 300 officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gants.
This list that is kept secret so far could put the officials in jeopardy, according to the Israeli daily.
Such a list could be viewed as an official recognition of Israel’s involvement in suspected war crimes committed by Israel in East Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
It is expected that ICC will make a decision soon on whether to confirm the proposal by ICC’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
According to the proposal, the ICC would launch an investigation into Israeli war crimes in Palestine since the year of Operation Protective Edge, which was a military operation launched by Israel against the besieged Gaza Strip on 8 July 2014.
“Protective Edge” resulted in the death of 2,322 Palestinians, of whom 495 were children and 253 women.
While Israel claims that ICC is not authorized to investigate the incidents in question as the PA is not a sovereign state, Bensouda argues that it is authorized for this.
Israeli media reveals secret list of hundreds of officials suspected of war crimes
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