Israelis should not have been surprised by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) March 3 announcement that it plans to open an investigation into alleged war crimes perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian territories. The threat of international prosecution has hounded Israel for years. But the latest news out of The Hague still managed to land like a bombshell—just as Israel geared up for its fourth election in two years.
The nascent ICC probe into Israeli—and Palestinian—activity unleashed firebrand reactions from the campaign trail. For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ICC became the latest manifestation of his longstanding charge that international bodies questioning Israeli activity are anti-Semitic. One of Netanyahu’s right-wing challengers, Avigdor Lieberman, attacked the prime minister personally for failing to head off the diplomatic calamity. The left-wing Meretz party, meanwhile, called for Israel to rethink its policies under investigation. Now, with the March 23 elections in the rearview mirror, Netanyahu—whom Israel’s president has once again tapped to form a government—has issued a fresh statement rejecting the ICC’s authority, stating that Israel will not cooperate with its proceedings.
