Will punish Palestinian authority if ICC issues warrants: Israel tells US
Israeli has warned the US administration that if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, it will take retaliatory steps against the Palestinian Authority that could lead to its collapse, said two Israeli and US officials.
Israeli officials have grown concerned over the last two weeks that the ICC is preparing to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, reports Axios.
The ICC has been investigating since 2021 possible war crimes by both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants dating back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
That investigation has been extended to the October 7 attacks and the war that has been raging in Gaza since then, according to the prosecutor's office.
Over the last few weeks, Israel has told the US that it has information suggesting Palestinian Authority officials are pressing the ICC prosecutor to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, two Israeli officials said.
US and Israeli officials said Israel told the Biden administration that if arrest warrants are issued, it will consider the Palestinian Authority responsible and retaliate with strong action that could lead to its collapse.
One possible action could be to freeze the transfer of tax revenues Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority. Without these funds, the Palestinian Authority would be bankrupt.
A senior Israeli official told Axios the threat of ICC arrest warrants is real and stressed if such a scenario happens the Israeli cabinet would likely make an official decision to punish the Palestinian Authority, which could lead to its collapse.
The White House and the Israeli Prime Minister's office declined to comment.
Palestinian Authority officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The issue of potential arrest warrants came up during a call between Netanyahu and Biden last Sunday, with Netanyahu asking Biden for help, Axios reported earlier this week.
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