Israel, U.S. seek to prevent ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu - report
Israeli media reports suggest last-ditch diplomatic effort to prevent the warrant, as Prime Minister is said to be 'under unusual stress'
Israel and the United States are seeking to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) from issuing arrest warrants against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, Israeli media reports suggest.
According to Walla, Netanyahu is “under unusual stress” over the prospect of an arrest warrant against him by the United Nations (UN) tribunal in The Hague, which would mark a major deterioration in Israel’s international status.
Israel's Prime Minister is said to be leading a “nonstop push over the telephone” to stop the arrest warrant, focusing especially on communication with the United States President Joe Biden's administration, added Walla.
Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that the Israeli government is working under the assumption that the ICC’s British prosecutor, Karim Khan, may this week issue warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu as well as Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, bringing a war-crimes case.
The development comes after Netanyahu's Friday statement: "We will never stop defending ourselves. Whereas decisions of the court in the Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they would be a dangerous precedent threatening the soldiers and officials of any democracy fighting criminal terrorism and aggression."
Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz in an interview to N12 called the potential warrant an "absolute hypocrisy."
"If necessary, we will not leave the country," he stated, adding that Israel was ready to suspend the operation in Rafah for the hostage deal.