(30 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem - 30 April 2024
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1. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, Associated Press:
"Israel is increasingly worried about the International Criminal Court. Israeli leaders and media reports in recent days have talked about the possibility of the ICC issuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders and military commanders in connection to the ongoing war in Gaza. Now, the ICC has not commented on these reports, though its chief prosecutor was in the region back in December. At the time he talked about the need to carry out an investigation. He said this would be a priority for his office to look in, not only into Israeli military actions, but also the actions of the Hamas militant group. Now the ICC was formed in the early 2000. It is meant to be a court of last resort. It deals with serious human rights cases like genocide allegations, crimes against humanity. Israel is not a member of the court. It is not subject to the court's jurisdiction. Nonetheless, if arrest warrants are issued, this would be a cause for concern. First of all, it would be seen as a lack of faith by the international community in Israel's own justice system. Israel says it is more than capable of trying any wrongdoing in its ranks. On a more practical level, it also could affect the ability of Israeli leaders to travel abroad. Although the court's jurisdiction doesn't extend to Israel, there are over 120 countries that do belong to the court. If Israeli leaders were to travel to any of these countries, they potentially could face arrest. Now Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he is furious about these reports. He's also worried, he's expressed concerns about it. He says he will not allow anyone to be arrested, and he says he will not let the court affect what he calls Israel's right to defend itself."
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STORYLINE:
Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could issue arrest warrants for the country’s leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday the ICC was "contemplating issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials as war criminals."
The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities - war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
Netanyahu on Tuesday urged world leaders to “stand firmly against the ICC outrageous assault on Israel’s inherent right of self-defence."
“We expect them to use all the means at their disposal to stop this dangerous move,” said Netanyahu in a video statement in English.
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the court’s prosecution office declined to comment in detail.
The ICC becomes involved when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues that it has a functioning court system, and disputes over a nation’s ability or willingness to prosecute have fueled past disputes between the court and individual countries.
The U.N. General Assembly raised the Palestinians’ status in 2012 from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join international organizations including the ICC.
The ICC accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
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25 сен 2024
