A joint media report led Dutch prosecutors to consider a criminal case based on concerns that senior Israeli intelligence officials have interfered with an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine, The Guardian confirmed on Tuesday.
The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call jointly investigated what they allege are nine years of influence and intimidation of the ICC chief prosecutor’s office since a preliminary inquiry was opened into the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and occupied al-Quds back in 2015. The 20 complainants, predominantly Palestinian, have filed a criminal complaint requesting the Dutch prosecution service investigate the allegations. According to The Guardian, 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 [clients’] right to justice.”
The allegations build on the joint investigation’s finding that Israeli intelligence has been used to conduct an espionage campaign against the court and to threaten ICC staff:
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 State sets out security and operational assistance measures afforded to the ICC host state, the Netherlands. More specifically, 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.
According to The Guardian, the complainants say Dutch authorities must honour this obligation “as a matter of urgency”. If proven, the allegations could result in conviction under Article 70 of the Rome Statute as an offence against the administration of justice. The recent call for accountability joins the warning by prosecutor Karim Khan back in May that “all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately”.
Khan applied for arrest warrants against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as senior Hamas leaders, for crimes against humanity and war crimes charges committed during the Israel-Hamas War in May. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Khan’s application, calling the proposed warrant 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 request for arrest warrants violates the Rome Statute and the principle of complementarity.
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