The ICC’s Decision to Investigate Israel Is Baseless but Dangerous

The decision of the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is baseless but still dangerous. The ICC is yet another highly politicized UN institution, not a real court of justice. The decision and the prosecutor’s conduct have both violated the Court’s own rules. The ICC is also trying to investigate the US for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Israel and the US should coordinate an intensive campaign to delegitimize the Court and ensure that the next prosecutor, who is scheduled to begin service this summer, is professional, ethical, and honest.

The US-Israeli Campaign Against the ICC

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently issued a stern warning to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague to stop the chief prosecutor from proceeding with an intended investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by Israel. Pompeo’s warning concerned Israel, but as the US is itself in danger of an ICC investigation into supposed war crimes in Afghanistan, it was meant to send a broader message. Any ICC investigation of Israel and the US would be dangerous, and the allies must use all diplomatic and legal tools at their disposal to fight and delegitimize the prosecutor and the Court.

Fighting the Demonization of Israel at the International Criminal Court

Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, has decided to indict senior Israeli policymakers and military officers for committing war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza. Her decision is baseless, preposterous, and discriminatory, and it violates the ICC’s own mission and rules. Bensouda’s action should be placed within the wider context of the Palestinian disinformation, delegitimization, and demonization campaign against Israel at international organizations. Israel should discredit and delegitimize the ICC in turn via aggressive political measures and collaboration with concerned liberal democracies, primarily the US.