Israeli intelligence swaying...
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The sitting UK government, under Keir Starmer, has shifted its stance to respect the independence of the ICC and not challenge its jurisdiction, aligning the UK’s position with international legal standards, despite continuing to support Israel. The UK has maintained its opposition to investigations into the war crimes of Israeli leaders by the ICC.
On the other hand, for nine consecutive years, Israeli intelligence has spied on ICC judges and officials, harassing them. Reports in the media indicate that Israeli intelligence allegedly forced Judge Julia Motoc, responsible for overseeing the case, to resign on health grounds by showing her some distressing past incidents. This has halted the investigation process for arrest warrants against Israeli leadership, while the ICC has not appointed new judges due to unfair pressure from the US and European countries. The ICC is facing accusations of hypocrisy for delaying the requests for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for over five months, especially when the same institution approved an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in just 24 days.
This double standard has exposed the pressure from the US government and some European nations on the ICC. Legal expert Dr. Owais warned that Motoc’s resignation has delayed the process for the arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister and minister of military affairs. Former UN official Craig Mokhiber questioned the sudden change in dynamics under increasing pressure from Israel and Western nations. The US Senate had previously threatened the ICC, stating that if arrest warrants were issued against Israeli leaders, Israel’s spying agency, Mossad, would expose key secrets regarding the ICC’s judges and officials’ activities. The Israeli intelligence has threatened to target the children of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, as well as former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, when she indicated an intention to begin investigations into Israeli crimes, even threatening her husband.
Both the ICC and Khan condemned these threats, which were seen as a direct attempt to interfere with judicial proceedings. Such actions have jeopardized the ICC’s independence, undermining its legal authority and ability to deliver justice.
A recent report from an Israeli news website detailed that Israel persuaded 25 countries to oppose the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, despite diplomatic norms. The report indicated that Israeli Foreign Minister Katz sent letters to foreign ministers of these 25 countries, urging them to submit legal complaints with the ICC against the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants.
The Israeli regime and its spying agency have acknowledged that they are fearful of investigations into their military’s war crimes and that the evidence is so apparent that they understand the ICC will not only issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant but also hold soldiers directly involved in war crimes accountable in a court of law.