The International Criminal Court's prosecutor believes there is room to open an investigation into all acts committed in "Palestine," in Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as of June 13, 2014. The investigation will also address Hamas and other Palestinian organizations. Although the opening of the investigation is awaiting the position of the court's pre-trial court, it is highly doubtful whether this composition of judges, which has already demonstrated negative access to Israel, will prevent it from being opened.
Yesterday, Israel Today reported that there were fears that Israeli officials could find themselves facing criminal proceedings, as well as arrest or arrest warrants. This is true both for the military, the various levels and for those who promote the settlement activity. Arrest warrants can be found secretly without the knowledge of the person for whom the warrant was issued. When an arrest warrant is issued, each member state is obliged to execute and transfer the detainee to the Hague Tribunal. There are 122 member states in the tribunal, including almost all western European and continental states, except the US, some African countries and Australia, Japan and other Asian countries. There is no immunity from the tribunal for ministers and heads of state, including those who are still in office. Arrest warrants have been issued against Israeli officials, in fact their travel options will be limited to many countries.
Israel, which is not a member of the tribunal, has excellent claims against the court's authority, most notably that "Palestine" is not a state with control over any territory, and in particular on the entire territory of Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. However, it is clear that the plaintiff has a different position, which is presumed to be adopted by the judges.
The expected investigation of Israel relates to two main types of deeds: the settlement activity, which is defined as a war crime of transferring the occupying state population to the occupied territory, and the military activity of the IDF, mainly in a firm cliff operation and demonstrations at the border.
Regarding the settlements, Israel has good legal claims. However, following the plaintiff's document, it is highly doubtful whether they will be accepted by her. The main front is therefore the political front. Pressure from companies in the tribunal, such as the United Kingdom, Australia or Canada, claiming that the tribunal, which is meant to engage in serious war crimes, to agree to its politicization move, could perhaps help stave off the investigation. However, it is a difficult time for which his chances of success are unclear. At the same time, serious negotiations for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which naturally involves dealing with settlements and borders, are likely to put this inquiry above the agenda.
Regarding the IDF's activities, the plaintiff does not appear to have a particular desire to investigate these cases, which would put her on a collision course with other Western countries involved in military conflicts, whose armies take the same course of action as the IDF and cause parallel damage to civilians who are in the arena. The IDF's strict adherence to the laws of war will serve it if an investigation is initiated. In this matter, the prosecutor has left an opening claiming that, in other words, Israel is conducting honest investigations on the fighting events and therefore there is no room for court intervention. It is appropriate to use this, complete investigations, publish investigations and even Take steps in the appropriate case.
An independent and strong court system is a prerequisite for the supplementary claim. The plaintiff notes positively the independence of the Israeli courts. This is another reason for the importance of maintaining the status of the courts. This also indicates that the public outcry whenever an investigation related to operational activity is mentioned and the attendance of military prosecutors, state attorneys and courts is due to a lack of understanding of the important role they play in maintaining IDF personnel and security forces in the international legal arena.

Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch is a senior researcher at the National Security Research Institute and chair of the Deborah Forum, Women in Foreign Policy and National Security. It will take part in the National Institute of National Security Research's annual conference at the end of the month (29-30.1) and will be marked " Strategic Assessment for Israel 2020 - Looking to the Next Decade"