The British newspaper "The Guardian" published another installment in its series of investigations into Israel's alleged intimidation campaign against International Criminal Court officials over the past decade. The British newspaper claims that Israeli intelligence not only harassed former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and threatened her but also wiretapped her and her successor Karim Khan, as well as others associated with the proceedings against Israel.
According to the Guardian, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed several intelligence agencies to launch an espionage operation against ICC officials. The Prime Minister's Office responded on Tuesday: "The questions forwarded to us are replete with many false and unfounded allegations meant to hurt the state of Israel." A military spokesperson added: “The IDF did not and does not conduct surveillance or other intelligence operations against the ICC."
The investigation alleges that former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen frequently contacted Bensouda and dropped in unexpected in different locations. Although Cohen's communication was amicable at first, he increasingly intimidated and threatened former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to dissuade her from investigating Israel. Furthermore, the Guardian wrote that Israel launched a "smear campaign" against Bensouda and her husband.
The Guardian's investigation stated that the Trump administration also pressured the ICC and Bensouda, both for its investigation against Israel and the investigation it launched into possible war crimes committed by American and Afghan military forces in Afghanistan. The climax of that affair was the U.S. imposing economic sanctions on Bensouda and one of her top officials.
An ICC source has said that, due to her Gambian citizenship, Bensouda felt "vulnerable and isolated," without Western citizenship. Months before the end of her term, despite feeling threatened, she announced the launch of the investigation into Israel. "Any investigation undertaken by the office will be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor," she said. "To both Palestinian and Israeli victims and affected communities, we urge patience."
According to the Guardian, Bensouda opened a preliminary examination into what in the legalese of the court was called "the situation in Palestine" on January 16, 2015. The following month, two men who had managed to obtain the prosecutor’s private address turned up at her home in The Hague. The men hand-delivered a letter to Bensouda on behalf of an unknown German woman who wanted to thank her. The envelope contained hundreds of dollars in cash and a note with an Israeli phone number.
It was concluded that "Israel was likely to be signaling to the prosecutor that it knew where she lived. The ICC reported the incident to Dutch authorities and put in place additional security, installing CCTV cameras at her home."
As Khan took over the position in 2021, he became busy with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Philippines. Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Khan opened a high-profile investigation, looking into the alleged Russian war crimes. However, Khan's team later said that it established a dedicated Palestine investigative team to take the inquiry forward.
According to one Israeli source, Israeli intelligence kept about 60 people under surveillance, half of them Palestinians and half from other countries, including UN officials and ICC personnel. The Guardian reported that ICC officials also became aware of specific threats against a prominent Palestinian NGO, Al-Haq, which was one of several Palestinian human rights groups that frequently submitted information to the ICC inquiry, often in lengthy documents detailing incidents it wanted the prosecutor to consider. The Palestinian Authority submitted similar dossiers.
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The Guardian claims Israel tapped Palestinian officials
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman)
Responding to the investigation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on leaders worldwide "to stand firmly against the ICC" and “use all the means at their disposal to stop this dangerous move. Branding Israel’s leaders and soldiers as war criminals will pour jet fuel on the fires of antisemitism." Meanwhile, a group of senior U.S. Republican senators sent a threatening letter to Khan with a clear warning: "Target Israel and we will target you."
Despite the pressure, Khan chose to continue the investigation. Last week, Khan announced he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alongside three Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu and Gallant stand accused of extermination, starvation, the denial of humanitarian relief supplies and deliberate targeting of civilians.
ICC prosecutor announcing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
(Video: ICC)
"I specifically underlined that starvation as a method of war and the denial of humanitarian relief constitute Rome statute offenses. I could not have been clearer," he said. "As I also repeatedly underlined in my public statements, those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my office takes action. That day has come."