Arrest warrants of Israeli leadership: Challenges for Trump

The recent decision of International Criminal Court (ICC) indicting Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza has reignited debates among Democrats regarding Israel’s actions in its conflict with Hamas. The Democratic Party is divided: staunch allies of Israel criticize the ICC for perceived pro-Palestinian bias, while liberal members welcome the scrutiny of Israel’s military actions.

This divide has intensified since Hamas’s October 07, 2023, attacks. While there is broad Democratic support for Israel’s right to self-defense, the severe Israeli response—which has led to over 44,000 Palestinian deaths—has caused a rift, with more liberal voices alleging human rights violations. This group applauds the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Some Democrats view the ICC’s actions as necessary for accountability, while others argue it undermines Israel’s right to defend itself. These divisions were heightened when the ICC also indicted Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, which did little to mollify Israel’s defenders, who see the court’s actions as creating false moral equivalencies. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) criticized the ICC’s indictments, while President Biden and other Democratic leaders called them “outrageous.”

Amid this controversy, some Democrats rejected Netanyahu’s accusations of antisemitism against the ICC, distinguishing between criticism of Israeli policy and broader prejudice. The debate has surfaced in internal Democratic discussions as they examine recent electoral setbacks, with some arguing that the party’s failure to more vocally defend Palestinian civilians hurt their prospects.

As the next Congress approaches, with Republicans controlling both houses and President-elect Trump in the White House, Democratic divisions over Israel will likely be exploited in legislative battles. Progressive leaders like Rep. Pramila Jayapal are pushing for adherence to laws that restrict US aid to countries violating human rights and argue that if another country behaved like Israel, the US would support international legal actions. This tension underscores the broader challenges facing Democratic leadership in navigating the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

ICC decision: Any difference for Palestinians?

In an unprecedented move, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision that has sent shockwaves through the international community. The court's announcement, delivered on November 22, has sparked widespread discussion and debate about its implications and potential consequences. Does this really mean anything to the Palestinians? The answer is yes as well as no.

On one hand, further intensified pressure on Israel to end its war crimes in Gaza can be anticipated. This could yield short-term gains for Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, including increased humanitarian aid to the Strip and even, from a very skeptical standpoint, a quicker end to the aggression than Israeli authorities have projected. In other words, in an ever-tightening world for the Israeli officials against the background of ICC’s warrant, continuing war on Gaza is a gamble with catastrophic international consequences for the government.

On the other hand, from a more realistic perspective, ICC’s arrest warrant for the two top Israeli figures is merely the beginning of a “Plan B” for Israel. This strategy, employed since the war’s outset alongside the initially stated objectives, aims to enable Israel to withstand an internal collapse.

Plan B, is not a twist in the story of Israel’s plot to expand territory and remove adversaries, but the predesigned next stage should the plan to achieve those objectives fail, the political life of an individual in exchange for the life of an entire, albeit unlawful, state.

In simple words, Netanyahu’s government was greenlighted to “do whatever it takes” to fulfill the purpose of this war since its outset and was warned that he would end up politically dead if the goals were not met. As the prospect of defeat looms, implementation of the “Hannibal Directive” has been initiated at the political level.

Since the start of the recent war on Gaza, which later expanded to Lebanon, this strategy has been the elephant in the room no one was willing to discuss publicly.

Many prominent political and public figures worldwide have relentlessly tried to reduce this war to include only “certain Israeli individuals” rather than the “Israel Project”, in part manifested in an illegitimate occupational state.

They keep accusing Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a handful of other political figures – mostly the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir as well as Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich – of fanning the flames of the war, committing genocide and other atrocities in Gaza and elsewhere, and other acts of political and military violence “that endanger the lives of Israelis” as if they were elected by non-Israelis.

That said, through employing the political Hannibal Directive, the continuation of the “Project Israel” is ensured, by assuring the global public opinion that the individuals responsible for the century’s most horrific crime against humanity have been removed from power.

Therefore, there are two versions – the day after the war with Netanyahu’s government, and the one without it. And the difference lies in the scope of the achievements. Therefore, it is safe to say that ICC’s recent move does not serve the interests of the Palestinians in the long run.

In fact, it makes next to no difference for Palestinians who are in the driver's seat of the Israeli government. Palestinians have endured life under the dominance of all Israeli political factions and classes with little to no practical distinction.

The only way to stop the aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing in Palestine, is to stop the occupation of the country. Political views may differ from one Israeli party to another, but their weapons are the same.

Courtesy: Tehran Times

 

 

Arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

After months of deliberation, the International Criminal Court on Thursday formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.

The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of judges, said in a statement that it unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to arrest warrant applications submitted in May by Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the ICC.

"The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 08, 2023 until at least May 20, 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest," the panel said, specifically alleging "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and "the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

The announcement came as the official death toll from Israel's war on the Gaza Strip surpassed 44,000.

The ICC judges said they "found reasonable grounds to believe" that Netanyahu and Gallant "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity."

The panel also said it "found reasonable grounds to believe that no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations."

"Finally, the Chamber assessed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza," the judges added.

The panel issued a separate statement announcing an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, saying it found "reasonable grounds to believe" he is "responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other forms of sexual violence."

Neither the US nor Israel recognize the ICC's jurisdiction, and the decision is expected to spark backlash from both countries.

Over the summer, in response to Khan's May application for arrest warrants, the Republican-led US House of Representatives passed legislation that would impose sanctions on the ICC. More than 40 House Democrats supported the measure, which has not received a vote in the narrowly Democratic Senate.

British Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, called the ICC arrest warrants "long overdue" and urged the government of Keir Starmer to "immediately endorse this decision."

"That is the bare minimum," Corbyn wrote on social media. "Will the UK government now, finally, honor its international obligations to prevent genocide and end all arms sales to Israel?"

 

 

US invites war criminal to address congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially been invited to deliver an address to Congress, reports The Hill.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday sent Netanyahu a formal invitation to speak during a joint meeting of Congress, and the invitation featured the signatures of all four Congressional leaders: Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“We join the State of Israel in your struggle against terror, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive and its leaders jeopardize regional stability,” the letter reads.

“For this reason, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, we would like to invite you to address a Joint Meeting of Congress.”

The address is expected to take place as soon as the next eight weeks or soon after August recess. It would be Netanyahu’s fourth address to a joint meeting of Congress, following speeches in 2015, 2011 and 1996.

The invitation left Washington after weeks of delay from Schumer who, during a high-profile floor speech in March, declared Netanyahu had lost his way and called for new elections in Israel, drawing the ire of the longtime Israeli leader, Republicans and some Democrats.

Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US history, and his office on a number of occasions said the Senate leader was supportive of having Netanyahu address Congress, despite his sharp criticism of the Israeli leader, but the New York Democrat did not sign the letter until recently.

Netanyahu’s visit to the Capitol — if it comes to fruition — is certain to spark intense anger among liberals in both chambers who have denounced the conservative leader’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, especially as the number of humanitarian deaths in the Gaza strip continues to rise.

Those feelings deepened last week after a prosecutor with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which the US is not a party to, filed arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli and Hamas leaders, alleging that they bear criminal responsibility for a list of war crimes.

Some progressives in the House told The Hill last week that they would likely skip the speech if it materialized, taking aim at the Israeli leader’s conduct during the war.

“I think there’ll be a lot of people who wouldn’t go, just given the fact that he is pushing this war into a place that no one wants it to go into just to save his own butt, which makes Israel less safe and the region less safe,” said Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who added that he would “probably” boycott the event.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Jewish Democrat who called Netanyahu a “menace,” said she “boycotted his last visit. I certainly will not attend this one.”

“It’s not going to help move us forward — it’s a detriment,” she added. “Should he come for any reason, in any venue, I am not going to be there.”

During Netanyahu’s 2015 visit to the Capitol, the Israeli leader used his speech to attack then-President Obama over the Iran nuclear deal, an extraordinary display that was denounced by Obama’s Democratic allies.

The formal invite for Netanyahu to address Congress marks the culmination of a weeks-long discussion over whether the Israeli leader would be given the opportunity to speak to lawmakers in the Capitol.

The idea first cropped up in March, when Johnson said he planned to invite the Israeli leader to deliver an address following Schumer’s controversial comments calling for new elections in the Middle East country.

Johnson said he sent Schumer a draft letter inviting Netanyahu to the Capitol in mid-March. Invitations for foreign leaders to address Congress are typically extended on behalf of congressional leaders. There are not, however, formal procedures for inviting foreign leaders to address Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In late-April, the Speaker said Schumer had not yet signed the letter, telling The Hill “it’s been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk.”

Responding to Johnson’s remarks, Schumer’s office told The Hill that the Democratic leader “intends to join the invitation, the timing is being worked out.”

Johnson upped the pressure on Schumer to sign the letter last week, when he said the House would move ahead with an invitation on its own if the Democratic leader did not join his letter soon.

Schumer again reiterated that he would support having Netanyahu visit the Capitol, telling reporters “I’m discussing that now with the Speaker of the House, and as I’ve always said, our relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends any one prime minister or president.”

 

How long will Biden protect Israeli war criminals?

This week the prosecutor from the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister and top Hamas leaders, then came a ruling from the ICC ordering Israel to immediately halt the assault on Rafah.

As usual, Israel responded to this news with defiance, denials, and deceit.

The official statement released by Israel via X/Twitter flatly denied that they are even conducting military operations against civilians in Rafah and lied about keeping the Rafah passage open to allow aid in. Everyone can see the truth of what is happening there. Some will choose to disbelieve their own eyes, and they will have to live with that choice.

Many will not close their eyes to Israel’s atrocities, and also not stop until Palestine is free.

In the forthcoming election of United States, scheduled for November many of the citizens stand unequivocally with the people of Gaza. Their fight is for people, planet, and peace as inextricable from the fight for Palestinian liberation.

Benjamin Netanyahu may have a close, personal friend, Joe Biden, who may not be there after November 2024.

The first thing the new president may do, end the supply of weapons and military aid to Israel that is in violation of international law, including its practice of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

The new president may also push the Senate to ratify the Rome Statute recognizing the legal authority of the International Criminal Court. He may also direct all US federal agencies with the proper authority to recognize and execute any valid arrest warrant issued by the ICC over Israel’s war crimes.

If he has the spine, he may not allow the foreign policy of the most powerful and influential nation on earth to be dictated by a despot clinging to the last threads of his power in a genocidal apartheid state.

US threatens ICC over Israeli arrest warrants

In another sign United States allowing Israel to violate international law, Washington stands accused of threatening a UN court from issuing arrest warrants against the Israeli leaders.

Senior Republican officials say President Biden’s administration backs their stance toward the International Criminal Court (ICC) if the body goes ahead with its plan to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Speaking to reporters, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says there is support among Democrats in the White House for the ICC to withdraw its position amid reports the UN Court is set to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu as well as other high-ranking officials including War Minister Yoav Gallant and military chief of staff Herzi Halevi for war crimes. 

In a direct threat to the ICC, Johnson underlined that “they’d better not do that … I think that it would make us as a nation respond in kind to the ICC”. 
“I think a group of senators and House members who would move expeditiously and we might just turn the table on the ICC. They better be careful,” the Republican leader warned. 
According to Johnson, who spoke to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, the Biden administration totally agrees.  

Blinken “confirmed that the position of the White House is our position … they are calling for the ICC to stand down,” Johnson told reporters. 

According to Axios, Congress has informed the ICC that any arrest warrants against Israeli leaders will be met with US retaliation with legislation to that effect already in the works. 

In a statement, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, echoed those warnings from his party leadership.

The Israeli occupation regime does not recognize the authority of the ICC, but issuing warrants would mean that the 124 countries that have signed up to the body, including some of Tel Aviv’s closest Western allies, would be obliged to arrest Israeli officials if they enter their territory.

Many have called out the US hypocrisy in its response to war crimes investigations against the Israelis, whose war on Gaza has so far led to the murder of around 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza is another Israeli war crime that reports indicate the ICC is pursuing the arrest warrants for. 

Last year, Biden welcomed an ICC decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was justified over what the US president said was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia says the warrant against Putin is a meaningless campaign by the West to damage Russia’s reputation and denies war crimes during its military actions against the US and NATO-backed Ukrainian army. 

“This is evidence of the stratification of consciousness,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a post on social media in which she hinted that Israel is a satellite of the United States. 

“On the one hand, the ICC judges are under US sanctions; on the other hand, Washington fully supported, if not stimulated, the issuance of ICC warrants against the Russian leadership; on the third, the American political system does not recognize the legitimacy of this structure in relation to itself and its satellites.” Zakharova pointed out. 

The Russian diplomat was responding to White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre who stated, “The US authorities believe that the investigation of the International Criminal Court into Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli high-ranking officials in this regard, goes beyond the jurisdiction of the court.”

ICC arrest warrants would be one of the most severe diplomatic setbacks for the Israeli occupation regime and its political and military leadership since the start of the war on Gaza.

Tel Aviv is already facing a genocide case, brought by South Africa, at the International Court of Justice as well as widespread accusations of indiscriminately carpet-bombing civilian infrastructure in Gaza and causing famine by preventing aid supplies from entering the enclave. 

Experts have highlighted that they do not believe the prospect of any ICC action would derail negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying such reports emerging in the US are part of wider tactics being deployed by Washington and Tel Aviv to delay the warrants being issued. 

Israeli media say Netanyahu is worried about the ICC issuing an arrest warrant against him, as reports indicate the US is lobbying its Western allies to pile pressure on the top UN Court. 

 

Iran demands trial of Israelis for war crimes

More than a thousand members of the Iranian legal community have signed a petition calling for an immediate arrest and trial of the Zionist regime’s criminals in the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The petition was signed on the sidelines of a conference on the Islamic Republic’s Constitution on Sunday. The members of the legal community lambasted the crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza.

The edited text of the petition reads as follows: 

In the Gaza war, the international community has witnessed living documentation of countless international crimes committed by Israel's apartheid and child-killing regime against the defenseless people of Gaza. As a result of this war, more than 16,000 people have been killed, more than 36,000 people have been injured, and 7,000 people are missing. So far, 1.5 million people have been displaced, and 205 members of the medical staff, 25 members of the relief forces, and 64 journalists have been martyred. The barbaric attacks of the Zionist army on Gaza have caused 26 hospitals and 55 medical centers to go out of service. 

The Israeli defense minister, who has violated all human rights rules, has issued a complete blockade of Gaza, and subsequently, the access of the people of Gaza to electricity, food, water, gas, a safe environment for accommodation, treatment, and even the Internet has been cut off. Unfortunately, world leaders are only witnessing the cruel and collective punishment of the Palestinian nation by the occupying regime. Even after the temporary ceasefire, the Gazan people have had no shelter to return to because 43,000 of their residential units have been leveled down. Despite the recommendations of the United Nations and human rights organizations, the Zionist army disagreed with the extension of the ceasefire and resumed its war crimes.

We, the signatories of this petition, while expressing our sympathy with the survivors of the Palestinian martyrs, express our disgust for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the widespread aggression and genocide of Palestinians by Israel and their European and American supporters. We request urgent action by the international community to expel the criminal Zionist regime from the occupied territories and immediately prosecute the Israeli criminals. 

 

ICC issues arrest warrants of Russian President

Piotr Hofmanski, President, International Criminal Court (ICC) said in a video statement Friday that an arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged war crimes of deportation of children from Ukrainian occupied territories into the Russian Federation.

International law prohibits occupying powers from transferring civilians from occupied areas to other territories.

Hofmanski said the contents of the warrants would be kept secret to protect the identities of the allegedly abducted children.

“Nevertheless, the judges of the chamber dealing with this case decided to make the existence of the warrants public in the interest of justice and to prevent the commission of future crimes,” he said.

While the ICC’s judges have issued the warrants, it will be up to the international community to enforce them as the ICC has no police force of its own.

“The execution depends on international cooperation,” Hofmanski said.

While it’s unclear what type of international cooperation would lead to Putin’s arrest, Russia has made clear it has no intention of cooperating.

The Kremlin said earlier this week that it doesn’t acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction or authority.

“We do not recognize this court; we do not recognize its jurisdiction,” Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday.

Peskov’s dismissal of the court’s authority came amid media speculation that ICC prosecutors would open two war crimes cases and issue several arrest warrants for those deemed responsible for the targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and for the mass abduction of children.

Besides seeking Putin’s arrest, the ICC on Friday also announced it had issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, on similar allegations.

The ICC said in a statement that both Putin and Lvova-Belova are allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from February 24, 2022; the court said which marks the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.

The arrest warrants come about a year after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Ukraine.

Khan has said that, during four trips to Ukraine, he was looking at the alleged targeting of civilian infrastructure and crimes against children.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin hailed the ICC’s decision in a statement on social media.

“The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable,” he said. “This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law.”

Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff said the move was “just the beginning.”

There were no immediate comments from Russia following the ICC’s announcement.

On Thursday, a United Nations-backed inquiry accused Russia of committing numerous war crimes in Ukraine, including forcibly deporting children to Russian territory.

The ICC’s announcement came as Slovakia on Thursday announced that it would send its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

With the move, Slovakia joined Poland, which on March 16 became the first NATO country to send its fighter jets to its embattled neighbor.

Ukraine’s leaders have repeatedly asked Western powers for fighter jets to help them in the fight against Russian forces.

Analysts say that neither Moscow nor Kyiv has air superiority in the skies above Ukraine, with the decision to send in the jets seen as a potential turning point in repelling Russia’s offensive.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested jet fighters, while Washington and other NATO allies have refused, citing concern about escalating the alliance’s role in the conflict.

Peskov downplayed the decision to send Polish and Slovak planes to Ukraine.

“In the course of the special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction,” Peskov said. “It feels like all of these countries are thus engaged in the disposal of old unnecessary equipment.”

Poland, which considers Russia’s regional ambitions a threat to its security, has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since the conflict began.

Warsaw has already provided Ukraine with some 250 combat tanks and pledged dozens more last month, including advanced German-made Leopard tanks.

 

ICC prosecutor announces formal investigation into Israeli war crimes

International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda announced on Wednesday that she is opening a full war crimes probe against Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. "The decision to open an investigation followed a painstaking preliminary examination undertaken by my office that lasted close to five years," Prosecutor Bensouda said in a statement.

"In the end, our central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides," she added. "My office will take the same principled, non-partisan, approach that it has adopted in all situations over which its jurisdiction is seized."

"This is a long-awaited step that serves Palestine’s tireless pursuit of justice and accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian people seek and deserve," the PA foreign ministry said in a statement. 

Israeli Foreign Minister says ICC war crimes probe in Palestinian territories is 'an act of moral and legal bankruptcy.'

Bensouda's announcement comes less than a month after a February decision by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber recognizing a State of Palestine and authorizing her to move forward.

The probe is expected to cover the 2014 Gaza War, the 2018 Gaza border crisis and the Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank as well as Hamas' rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

War crimes suits could be leveled at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defense ministers and any other high-level officials involved in such activity since 13th June 2014. Soldiers and commanders could also be targeted.

"The investigation will cover crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that are alleged to have been committed in the Situation since 13 June 2014, the date to which reference is made in the Referral of the Situation to my Office," chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Bensouda said that the investigation "will be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favour." She said that the decision to open an investigation followed a painstaking preliminary examination undertaken by her office that lasted close to five years.

"Having assessed submissions from states, international organizations and other stakeholders, the Chamber was otherwise unanimous in its view that Palestine is a State Party to the Rome Statute. The majority also ruled that Palestine's referral of the Situation obliged the Office to open an investigation, the Office having determined that there existed a reasonable basis to do so in accordance with the Rome Statute criteria," she wrote in a statement.

Bensouda called on Palestinian and Israeli victims and affected communities to be patient.

"The ICC is not a panacea, but only seeks to discharge the responsibility that the international community has entrusted to it, which is to promote accountability for Rome Statute crimes, regardless of the perpetrator, in an effort to deter such crimes," she wrote. "In meeting this responsibility, the Office focuses its attention on the most notorious alleged offenders or those alleged to be the most responsible for the commission of the crimes."

Her primary concern, she wrote, "must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides."

Bensouda's decision comes only a few weeks after her successor, Karim Khan, was announced to take her place starting in June.

The news will be another blow to Israel, where officials had hoped Bensouda would leave the decision of how to proceed to her successor and that he might be more sympathetic to Israel's many claims against the ICC's jurisdiction.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister and Acting Justice Minister Benny Gantz alarmed government officials when he warned that hundreds of Israelis could be subject – in the near future – to war crimes probes by the International Criminal Court.

Gantz called that “an estimate,” declining to say that Israel had drawn up a list of officials likely to be investigated. Israel will provide legal assistance to any targeted Israelis and will give them advice regarding travel abroad if necessary, Gantz said.

Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director for the left-wing NGO Human Rights Watch, stated: "The ICC prosecutor’s decision to open a Palestine investigation moves Israeli and Palestinian victims of serious crimes one step closer to obtaining a measure of justice that has for too long eluded them. 

"The court’s crowded docket shouldn’t deter the prosecutor’s office from doggedly pursuing cases against anyone credibly implicated in such crimes. 

"All eyes will also be on the next prosecutor Karim Khan to pick up the baton and expeditiously move forward while demonstrating firm independence in seeking to hold even the most powerful to account. ICC member countries should stand ready to fiercely protect the court’s work from any political pressure," he added.