Prominent politicians and intelligence agencies have conspired – with the help of Donald Trump’s administration – to spy on the work of the International Criminal Court and its officials, undermine it, “undue influence” and threatening it, which proved that Israel is a rogue entity.
The newspaper reported that the threats against the former ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and the current incumbent of the position, Karim Khan, at a time when the world is facing alarming evidence that Israel, under Benjamin Netanyahu, has spiraled out of control and must be “forced to be held accountable for its actions in a court of law.”
Netanyahu’s government is facing unprecedented diplomatic criticism, with the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, the European Union, Arab states and several aid agencies belatedly demanding a halt to their offensive on Gaza.
“Netanyahu has categorically rejected all pleas, while it is his duty to show some respect for international public opinion and public decency by responding, line by line, to the allegations he makes to the ICC.”
Yesterday, the Guardian revealed that the former head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service, Yossi Cohen, had threatened the former ICC prosecutor in a series of secret meetings during which he tried to pressure her to abandon the war crimes investigation.
Cohen’s confidential contacts with then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Cohen, who was one of Netanyahu’s closest allies at the time and who emerged as a political force in Israel, personally led the Mossad’s involvement in a nearly decade-long campaign by the state to undermine the court.
In mid-May, the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) has repeatedly deplored attempts to undermine the Court’s independence in its investigation into the situation in occupied Palestine.
