Israel compiles list of officials who could face arrest over ICC probe
Israeli authorities have compiled a top secret list of hundreds of military and intelligence officials, who could be arrested abroad if the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague opens an investigation into their war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The list thus far consists of between 200 to 300 people, some of whom are not aware of their inclusion, for abuses and war crimes committed in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem al-Quds, Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday.
The list is secret as the Tel Aviv regime fears that the ICC could perceive the list of names as an official Israeli admission of the officials’ involvement in the incidents under investigation.
The roster includes some of Israel’s top officials, especially those involved in the 2014 military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Among them would be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, minister of military affairs Benny Gantz, former minister of military affairs and current opposition MK Moshe Ya’alon, and the chief of the general staff of the Israeli army, Aviv Kohavi.
Former ministers of military affairs Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett, along with former and current heads of the Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen and Nadav Argaman respectively, and some lower-ranking officers are also on the list.
A three-judge panel at the ICC is set to rule in the coming days or weeks on whether to approve a request by the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, to launch an investigation into war crimes perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian land.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/16/629763/Israel-compiles-list-of-officials-who-could-face-arrest-over-ICC-probe