The Israeli government is split over whether the best way to counter a possible investigation into war crimes by the International Criminal Court is to refuse to participate in any proceedings, or to try and prevent the investigations by arguing the ICC has no jurisdiction here.
The Israeli dilemma follows an announcement on December 20 by ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that there is basis to investigate Israel — as well as the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — over their actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Ms Bensouda’s announcement, which comes after five years of preliminary investigations mainly into the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, but in to other incidents as well, was initially met with accusations of “hypocrisy” and “antisemitism” from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and government ministers.
Israel, like the United States, is not a signatory to the Rome Statute which formed the ICC, and the initial impulse of the Israeli government, especially since it has the backing of the Trump administration on this issue, has been to refuse to cooperate with the court.
