Meeting with Netanyahu and ICC Chief Prosecutor
In a written statement made by the Prime Ministry Press Office, it was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an important meeting with some high-level officials, including Chief Prosecutor Gali Baharav-Miara. The main agenda item of this meeting was the application for an arrest warrant by Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan for Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
It was stated that during the meeting, Chief Prosecutor Baharav-Miara proposed the establishment of a commission of inquiry to examine the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in Israel. However, Baharav-Miara expressed that she was not sure that the establishment of such a commission would definitely contribute to the cancellation of the application of Chief Prosecutor Han of the ICC.
On the other hand, according to news on Channel 12 television, Baharav-Miara and some Israeli experts stated that they believe that the most effective way to prevent the ICC from issuing an arrest warrant is for Israel to establish an “independent” commission to investigate the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In this context, it was alleged that Baharav-Miara and some experts put pressure on Netanyahu to establish the commission.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he had applied for an “arrest warrant” against Netanyahu and Gallant on May 20, 2023. Khan emphasized that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity ” in the Gaza Strip as of October 8, 2023.
