Report: Israeli criminal interference with ICC investigation

A joint media report has led Dutch prosecutors to consider a criminal case concerning claims that Israeli intelligence officials have interfered with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine, The Guardian confirmed on Oct. 8. The Guardian and the Israeli publications +972 Magazine and Local Call jointly investigated what they allege are nine years of illegal surveillance and intimidation of the ICC prosecutor’s office since a preliminary inquiry was opened into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2015.

Twenty complainants, predominantly Palestinians, have filed a criminal complaint requesting the Dutch prosecution service investigate the allegations of interference. The complainants’ lawyers said in the filing that “Israel’s many attempts to influence, sabotage and stop the investigation constitute a direct violation of their [the clients’] right to justice.”

The joint investigation found that Israeli intelligence has conducted an espionage campaign against ICC staff, including chief prosecutor Karim Khan:

Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous ICC officials, including Khan and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails and documents. The surveillance was ongoing in recent months, providing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with advance knowledge of the prosecutor’s intentions.

The Headquarters Agreement between the International Criminal Court and the Host Statesets out security and operational assistance measures afforded to the ICC host state, the Netherlands. Article 43(1) provides:

The competent authorities shall take effective and adequate action which may be required to ensure the security, safety and protection of persons referred to in this Agreement, indispensable for the proper functioning of the Court, free from interference of any kind.

The complainants say Dutch authorities must honor this obligation “as a matter of urgency.” If proven, the allegations could result in conviction under Article 70 of the Rome Statute as an offense against the administration of justice. The demand for an investigation follows the warning by prosecutor Karim Khan in May that “all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately.”

Khan has applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as senior Hamas leaders, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Khan’s application, calling it an “outrageous decision” and an “unrestrained frontal assault on the victims of October 7th and our 128 hostages in Gaza.” Israel submitted its challenge to the jurisdiction of the ICC and the legality of the requests for the arrest warrants in September, contending that the requests violate the Rome Statute and the principle of complementarity.

From Jurist, Oct. 9. Used with permission.

Note: As accusations of genocide mount against Israel, it continues to reject the authority of the International Criminal Court.