Middle East: Is Netanyahu threatened with an arrest warrant? USA against investigations

The White House has been evasive about the consequences of possible arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israelis.

They do not support the investigation and are also convinced that the criminal court in The Hague – which is not recognized by the USA – has no legal jurisdiction, said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. She had previously been asked whether potential arrest warrants could torpedo ceasefire negotiations. Even when asked several times, the spokeswoman stuck to her short answer and said: “I’ll leave it at that.”

Israeli media had previously reported that Netanyahu feared that chief prosecutor Karim Khan could issue international arrest warrants for the Israeli head of government, his defense minister Joav Galant and the chief of general staff Herzi Halevi this week. The Criminal Court has been investigating the Islamist organization Hamas and Israel for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip since 2021. Investigations are also underway into acts of violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Legally, an arrest warrant from the Criminal Court against Netanyahu and other Israeli citizens would mean that states that have signed the statutes of the Court would be obliged to arrest these people and transfer them to The Hague – provided they are in the territory of these states. Like the USA, Israel does not recognize the court. But the Palestinian territories are a contracting state. Therefore, the prosecutor is allowed to investigate.