Israel sent a letter April 9 to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, saying the court has no jurisdiction to open a probe against it. The letter said the court is "acting without authority" in carrying out the probe. A statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Israel absolutely rejects the claim that it has carried out war crimes. Israel reiterates its unequivocal position according to which the court in The Hague lacks the authority to open an investigation against it. The unacceptable interference of the court lacks any legal basis and contravenes the goals for which it was established."
The Israeli decision was taken April 8 after several rounds of consultations on different levels and just one day before the deadline set by the court. Reportedly, the final Israeli decision was made following a discussion by Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Education Minister Yoav Gallant, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and other senior officials.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had sent a notification letter to Israel at the beginning of March informing Jerusalem about her intention to open an investigation against Israel. The letter was reported to have covered three topics — the 2014 Gaza war, Israeli settlement policy, and the Great Return marches in Gaza in 2018 — demanding that Israel respond within 30 days.
Israel was offered either to cooperate with the upcoming probe or tp notify the court that the country was launching its own independent investigation. Apparently Jerusalem decided not to take up this latter possibility, fearing that such a move could be interpreted as recognizing Bensouda's authority to investigate Israel and forcing it to report to the court on the status of such an investigation every six months. It should be noted that Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court, as it did not sign the Rome Statute. Israel also claims that the Palestinians do not qualify as a sovereign state and so lack the right to join the court.
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