Israel Wants White House Protection From ICC Investigations

Arab World

January 25th, 11:46am

Tel Aviv- Nazir Majli

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague (file photo: Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to Washington for the second time in a month with a list of new demands. Netanyahu wants to ensure the administration of Joe Biden will follow the policy set by his predecessor, Donald Trump, especially in dealing with Iranian threats, as well as possible investigations from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Sources close to Netanyahu said that he wanted to visit Washington himself, just as the tradition with Israeli PMs when a new US president is elected, but such a visit is not being discussed presently. Instead, the PM chose Cohen, one of his most trusted colleagues, to travel to the US making him the first senior Israeli official to meet Biden. Cohen visited the US capital 10 days ago and met with officials from Biden's team, one day before the inauguration. Next month, the intelligence chief will return to Washington, accompanied by a number of officials from the foreign and defense ministries, to meet the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Israeli delegation will discuss with its US counterpart issues with the ICC, aiming to ensure a strict stance regarding the investigation into the settlements and other Israeli practices labeled as “war crimes.” The sources said that Tel Aviv fears an investigation by The Hague into its war crimes against the Palestinians during the war on Gaza in 2014 and settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The delegation wants to persuade Biden to maintain the sanctions imposed by the former administration on the ICC. The Israelis are seeking to coordinate with Washington the selection of ICC’s next chief prosecutor, succeeding Fatou Bensouda whose mandate will end soon. Israeli state radio Kan reported Sunday that the government fears an investigation in the court will have consequences for many current and former Israeli diplomatic and military officials, which may lead to the issuance of arrest warrants for some of them. The sources have expressed optimism about obtaining a positive position from Biden, especially that former President Barack Obama refused to join the court after it launched an investigation into the practices and violations of US forces. Channel 12 also reported the upcoming visit, noting that the delegation will present Israeli intelligence on Iran to the Biden administration. A source told the channel that they will also ask the US to ensure that any future agreement with Iran includes an end to both uranium enrichment and the production of advanced centrifuges. Additionally, the delegation will want the US to insist on ending Iran’s presence in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, and halt Tehran’s support for organizations, including Hezbollah. On Saturday, Israel's National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan spoke for the first time and agreed that they would soon discuss regional issues such as Iran and the Abraham Accords. This was the first conversation between the two officials since President Biden was sworn into office. “They discussed opportunities to enhance the partnership over the coming months, including by building on the success of Israel’s normalization arrangements with UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco,” according to a statement. Sullivan also extended an invitation to begin a strategic dialogue in the near term, the statement said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2763821/israel-wants-white-house-protection-icc-investigations