Israel gears up for potential ICC warrants over Gaza actions, FM Katz warns of backlash

Israel instructed its embassies abroad to prepare for a severe antisemitic backlash should the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants against top Israeli leaders and army brass over their actions in Gaza, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and IDF Chief of Staff  Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz (Likud) issued messages on the matter both to Israeli missions abroad and to Jewish organizations, suggesting that the latter work with local authorities to increase security.

He also spoke with Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli on the issue. 

The ICC has not issued any formal statement on pending action, since its Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed in November 2023 that he was investigating the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem, including actions relating to the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7.

Israel has feared that Khan plans to issue arrest warrants in the near future, possibly even this week.

"We expect the [ICC] to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials in the political and security echelons," Katz said.

Israeli official condemns ICC warrants

“There is nothing more distorted than attempting to prevent Israel from defending itself against a murderous enemy openly calling for the destruction of the State of Israel," the Foreign Minister explained as a referenced the IDF campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas.

“If the warrants are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and provide a morale boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the axis of radical Islam led by Iran against which we are fighting,” he said.

Katz later posted on X that ”Arch-murderers like [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and [Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar are waiting in hope that the ICC at The Hague will judge Israel. What an absurdity.”

Israel Democracy Institute Senior Fellow and international legal expert Yuval Shany said that Khan could issue such warrants at this stage in the process. 

If he does, Khan is also likely “to issue arrest warrants against leaders of Hamas,” Shany said.

Those against whom the warrants are issued are expected to surrender themselves to the court, and if they don’t, they have to avoid traveling to countries that could extradite them, Shany explained. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in a similar situation Shany said, given that the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him in March 2023 over his actions in Ukraine.

“He is very careful where he travels,” he said.

Ultimately, Shany said, those who fail to appear before the court would forfeit their right to appeal the indictment against them.

“But this is further down the road. We are still not there” yet, he stated.

Shany said that at present Israel is very much in the dark, given that no action has been taken and it does not know what charges would be detailed in the indictments.

If the warrant focuses on problems with humanitarian aid in Gaza that is one thing, he said. If it delves into the use of weaponry in Gaza, that is another thing, he added.

“It's too soon to .. evaluate how deep is the hole in which the Israeli leadership finds itself,” Shany said.