Israel’s Attorney General calls ICC ruling a “disappointing and unnecessary decision”

Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has called the ICC ruling that it has jurisdiction to open a criminal investigation into ‘Israel’ for war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as a “disappointing and unnecessary decision.”

“One should regret this decision, a disappointing decision of the majority opinion, not a profound decision of the majority opinion, and I read it carefully,” Mandelblit said in an interview at the annual ‘Israel 2030’ conference of Basheva and Arutz Sheva.

“I suggest reading the minority opinion which is the head of the tribunal; he describes and interprets things exactly as we described them – there is no such thing as ‘Palestine’ according to international law.”

He added, “Eight significant states have joined our position and international scholars under the Oslo Accords say there is no such thing as a state of Palestine, it has no borders under the Oslo Accords, and has no authority to judge Israelis. This is an unfortunate and wrong decision by the majority.”

“It is important to say that no investigation has been opened yet. I do not see an immediate risk to any Israeli. We are making preparations in case an investigation opens.”

In his opinion, “This tribunal was set up to fight atrocities. There are atrocities in the world. The State of Israel does not commit atrocities.”

“We have laws of war. We have a glorious court that is world famous regarding the rule of law. It’s a puzzling thing for such a country to get handed such a decision, I hope it will not be reflected in the investigation.”

Last 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 native Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

But she asked the court to determine whether she has territorial jurisdiction before proceeding with the case.

Several Israeli officials also condemned the ruling of the ICC, calling the decision a “sham” and “unauthorized”.

“Let me be clear, the ICC has no right to investigate, no right to indict, no right to try and no right to convict any Israeli whatsoever,” said Yamina Party leader Bennett. “The International Criminal Court is a sham.”

“It is yet another example of how the Palestinian Authority is working to hijack international institutions to attack Israel,” Sa’ar, the former cabinet secretary, said.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz slammed the ICC ruling, calling it “grave”, “unauthorized” and 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.”

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.

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.