the arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Defense will “succeed” assures a lawyer specializing in international criminal law

The arrest warrants, requested for more than four months by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Defense for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, will “to achieve”, assures Johann Soufi, lawyer specializing in international criminal law, on franceinfo Monday October 7. “There is no doubt that within a few weeks, even a few months, the warrants will be issued”says the former head of the legal department of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza.

Usually issued within a few weeks, the four-month wait for these warrants is “quite inexplicable”admits Johann Soufi. He gives two reasons: “Extremely significant pressure from both Israel’s allies, the American government, but also from the state parties, France, the United Kingdom, Germany” and consultative procedures initiated to “challenge” the jurisdiction of the ICC.

According to this lawyer specializing in international criminal law, “there is no problem with international justice, it is the States which do not meet their obligations”. What gives the feeling d“impotence” of this international justice.

On May 20, the ICC prosecutor requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as three Hamas officials. Among these three officials, two are presumed dead, “therefore the two proceedings against them are interrupted”, explains Johann Soufi. An ICC procedure is also underway against the State of Israel to ask it to “end his presence” in the occupied territories.