Military affairs analyst for the newspaper “Haaretz”, Amos Harel, said that the intention of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, to issue an arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, in addition to 3 leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), places Israel before a diplomatic reality the likes of which it has never faced. before.
Harel added in a news analysis in the same newspaper that Khan’s request puts the Israeli leadership for the first time, and in the short term, at risk of an international threat in the wake of its decision to continue the war in the Gaza Strip.
He added that if the arrest warrants were issued, the Israelis would likely find themselves facing a “flood” of diplomatic threats, with potentially far-reaching effects on the level of economic, scientific and commercial relations, and on other areas as well.
Khan announced, on Monday, that he had submitted requests to issue arrest warrants regarding the situation in Palestine, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and 3 Hamas leaders: the Commander-in-Chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas, Muhammad Al-Deif, and the head of the movement’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. In addition to the head of the movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Unprecedented
Harel considered that this step against Israel, which he described as a democracy and which is engaged in a war, was unprecedented, and threatened to hand over its prime minister and defense minister to the International Criminal Court if they visited the member states of the court.
He claimed that there was a suspicion that the Public Prosecutor’s move was “reversed.” He sought to bring Israel’s leaders to justice on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and added to the request the leadership of Hamas “to present a false image that suggests a neutral balance in the process.”
The Haaretz military analyst believes in his article that the criminal prosecutor’s investigation has contradicted early expectations, as it targets only politicians and not the military, none of whom were included in the arrest warrants he intends to issue.
It exposes it to international sanctions
Khan’s move is likely to shed light on the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is deliberating a resolution calling for an end to the war, according to the article, which Netanyahu’s refusal to comply with is expected to put Israel on the path to imposing international sanctions against it, if the UN Security Council begins discussing it. the case.
Harel claimed that Israel is not like Russia or Iran, as it is a “democracy” that depends entirely on its relations with the West, and “perhaps this situation is what bothers the far-right leaders in the government.”
He pointed out that there is an imminent danger that is developing that may – in his opinion – negatively affect the lives of many Israelis, claiming that Sinwar may not worry much about the matter because he cannot visit Europe.
But the writer goes on to say that one of the reasons for the development of these events stems not only from the double standards of the international community towards Israel, but also from the “foolish” behavior of its leaders.
