ICC decision paves way for arms embargo on Israel: Military analyst

JERUSALEM

Israeli military analyst Amos Harel, writing for the daily Haaretz on Friday, argued that the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have paved the way for a global arms embargo against Israel.

On Thursday, the ICC issued international arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

Harel noted that the ICC decision “could give a tail wind to many criminal complaints and investigations against IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers and commanders that are being conducted in numerous countries.”

He highlighted that the warrants have opened the door to the potential arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant in over 120 countries that are signatories to the ICC, should they travel there.

The analyst also stressed that “the ICC's decision is liable to create an opening for a weapons embargo by additional Western countries, which until now have made do with more moderate measures against Israel.”

Further, Harel emphasized that this is also a “reminder that another focus of the criminal investigation is the goings-on in the West Bank, with an emphasis on the settlements.”

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi