Gantz calls ICC ruling “unauthorized,” promising to prevent harm to IOF
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Saturday sent a letter to the IOF calling the International Criminal Court’s ruling it has jurisdiction to open a criminal investigation into ‘Israel’ for war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, as a “grave” and “unauthorized.”
“The poor ruling by the ICC lacks any basis in international law and exposes the actual motivation for the proceedings: the political exploitation of international institutions to serve Israel’s detractors and critics,” Gantz tweeted.
He continued, “Israel has its own independent justice system and highly effective mechanisms for inquiry and investigation, when necessary. The IDF & Israel’s defense establishment will continue to protect our country & our people, while upholding our moral standards and international law.”
The poor ruling by the ICC lacks any basis in international law and exposes the actual motivation for the proceedings: the political exploitation of international institutions to serve Israel’s detractors and critics.
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) February 6, 2021
“The decision of the judges at The Hague is grave and has no basis in international law. The proceeding…is conducted without authority and is unfounded,” Gantz wrote in the letter, addressed to the IOF Chief of Staff, IOF soldiers and commanders, the director-general of the Defense Ministry, and the upper echelon of Israel’s security establishment.
החלטת שופטי בית הדין בהאג היא החלטה חמורה שאין לה כל יסוד במשפט הבינלאומי. ההליך במסגרת בית הדין הפלילי מתנהל בחוסר סמכות, הוא מופרך ונועד להוות כלי שרת בידי חורשי רעתה של מדינת ישראל, ואלו המבקשים לפגוע בה על ידי ניצול פוליטי של גופים בינלאומיים. pic.twitter.com/NqS1VmpVym
— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) February 6, 2021
He called the ICC ruling “a tool in the hands of the enemies of the State of Israel, and those who seek to harm it through the political exploitation of international bodies.”
On Friday, the International Criminal Court said that its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by ‘Israel’ in the 1967 war, clearing the way for its chief prosecutor to open a war crimes probe into Israeli war crimes.
“The Court’s territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine … extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” the judges said.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in 2019 that there was a reasonable basis to open a war crimes probe into Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
However, she asked the court to determine whether she has territorial jurisdiction before proceeding with the case.
Palestine has asked the court to look into Israeli war crimes during its 2014 war against the Gaza Strip, when the Israelis killed 2147 Palestinians including women and children, and wounded 10870 others, as well as Israel’s construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
➡️the Court's territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) February 5, 2021
On Saturday, the IOF released a statement slamming the ICC ruling as “biased, irrelevant…and without authority.”
“The IDF has defended and will continue to defend, with determination, the State of Israel and its citizens in all areas, out of a full commitment to the spirit of the IDF, its values and the laws of the State of Israel and international law.”
The IDF responds to the decision of the International Criminal Court: pic.twitter.com/zdKvARV00L
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 6, 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called the decision a “pure anti-Semitism” and promised to fight it.
“When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure anti-Semitism,” Netanyahu said.
