ICC former prosecutor says Netanyahu's freedom 'temporary' if US and Iran mend ties

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to defy an international arrest warrant could be in jeopardy if the US re-establishes ties with Iran, a former top war crimes prosecutor has told The National.

Luis Ocampo, who served as the first chief prosecutor of International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2012, said Mr Netanyahu remains free due to political influences such as Israel’s close relationship with the US. These ties have allowed Washington to lobby for Mr Netanyahu’s continued freedom, he said.

But all this is at risk, Mr Ocampo said, if the US normalises relations with Iran, as Washington and Tehran carry out negotiations on a new nuclear deal. An agreement could provide an overarching “solution” to the issues plaguing the Middle East, he added.

Mr Netanyahu opposed a nuclear agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018. It is unclear where Israel stands on the resumption of talks.

“Right now [Mr Netanyahu] is using his influence to get support from the US in particular, and European countries, to protect him in some way,” Mr Ocampo said. “But this protection is temporary.”

A nuclear deal, and a subsequent improvement of ties between the US and Iran could also be challenging for Mr Netanyahu's political career, he added.

Gaza effect

Israeli and international analysts have said Mr Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging Israel's offensive in Gaza is to delay his own corruption trial at home.

A month ago, Mr Netanyahu said he would not testify in one of the hearings in his trial after ordering an attack on Gaza that effectively ended a 42-day ceasefire there.

The ICC last year issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity in Gaza. It also issued warrants for three Hamas leaders who are all dead.

Mr Ocampo maintained that efforts to shield Mr Netanyahu from arrest are primarily for political reasons. “The legal decision was taken, it’s clear. The political game is highly complicated and has multiple actors,” he said.

The ICC does not have the ability to execute arrest warrants and has to rely on members of the Rome Statute, the court's founding document, to hand over wanted suspects.

Mr Ocampo said the body was not established to replace existing court systems but to “intervene where they fail”. Still, he believes that the ICC’s arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu are already having an impact.

France last year said it would adhere to the ICC statutes to arrest Mr Netanyahu but President Emmanuel Macron later said the Israeli Prime Minister enjoys “immunity” from arrest.

Mr Ocampo said statements such as these are meaningless and have no bearing on reality. “Whatever they say, the warrant is there. To remove it, you need more than a statement by [Donald] Trump or sanctions against the prosecutor,” he said.

Mr Ocampo highlighted that because on a global scale the ICC, unlike in a national system, cannot send troops to implement a judge’s decision, states have to decide what to do about outstanding warrants for arrest.

The former ICC prosecutor believes that the US’s close relationship with Israel, will prompt Mr Trump to attempt to “protect” Mr Netanyahu from arrest. One way to do to that, he said, is for the US to play a role in the UN Security Council, where it has veto power, to suspend the investigation against Mr Netanyahu in exchange for peace in Gaza.

During the first week of April, Hungary announced it was withdrawing from the ICC as Mr Netanyahu visited his ally Prime Minister Viktor Orban.