Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara listens on as she attends a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, reportedly acting on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to open a criminal investigation against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as part of an effort to prevent ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from issuing arrest warrants against the two, Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday.
Levin’s request was made following the recent decision by Khan, the criminal prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, to accelerate the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The justice minister refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, as advocated by Baharav-Miara. Instead, he is exploring alternative solutions to block the arrest warrants.
The unusual request was made to stop the ICC arrest warrants by exploiting the principle of complementarity, which regulates relations between political courts and the International Criminal Court.
The goal would be to open the investigation and then close it while reporting the findings to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, without establishing an official state commission of inquiry.
Gallant also appealed separately to the legal advisor to establish a government commission of inquiry following the prime minister’s failure to establish a state commission for the events of October 7.
Following Gallant’s request, Baharav-Miara clarified that “a government committee is liable to cause harm because the subject [of an investigation] cannot appoint an investigator.”
The attorney general also dismissed the proposal outlined by Levin and Netanyahu as a blatant ploy to halt the issuing of arrest warrants, stating that it would not meet the requirements of the ICC.
She previously said that only an official state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s response would satisfy the court.
Netanyahu has said he prefers a government inquiry into the events, however, Baharav-Miara has pushed for a state commission, as the latter would be independent of the coalition government.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu fears that a state commission of inquiry could be exploited by political opponents to attempt to remove him from office.
Israel is facing allegations of genocide and war crimes in the International Court of Justice, following South Africa’s suit, filed in December 2023. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his intention to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif in May for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The IDF’s chief military prosecutor, Maj.-Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi has previously stressed that the State of Israel is “a state of law” when speaking about the request for the ICC to investigate Israeli leaders.
The ICC normally refuses to investigate countries that are considered to have a robust and independent judicial system.
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