Possible ICC probe into Gaza war crimes worries Israel

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – With the end of the Trump administration, worries are rising in Israel over the possible reopening of an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into suspicions of war crimes against the Palestinians.

The state-run channel KAN reported on Sunday that the ICC may feel emboldened to open an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the 2014 war on the Gaza Strip.

A decision to open the probe has been suspended since December 2019 to avoid a confrontation with the Trump administration, which imposed sanctions on the ICC in June 2020 over its probe into possible US war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

"Such an investigation would have broad implications for many high-level Israeli political and military officials, who could be subjected to international arrest warrants issued by members of the tribunal,” the broadcaster said.

In December 2019, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the court found sufficient evidence to open an investigation into suspicions of war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories.

As many as 2,322 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed – and some 11,000 injured – in the 51-day Israeli offensive in 2014.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara