Meretz Leader: There Is A Basis For ICC Decision To Investigate Israel’s War Crimes

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Politicians are wont to make controversial statements prior to elections, but Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz succeeded in angering the entire political establishment even during such a period. In a channel 13 interview, Horowitz said that “there was a basis for the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israel and I am in favor of cooperating with it and not to try and lambast it. I say this with great sorrow.”

Horowitz, whose party is teetering on the electoral threshold, added that he didn’t want Israel to face such situations “but it needs to ask itself what it is doing to prevent them. The red line for me is that there are no negotiations with the Palestinians and we continue to build in settlements as if there is not tomorrow. Our solution is not to say that ‘the Hague is antisemitic’ but rather to promote negotiations with the Palestinians, reach an agreement, and then there will be no Hague probes.”

The Likud attacked Horowitz, stating that he has “abandoned the very IDF soldiers who are protecting him and all of us. The Hague decision is an anti-Semitic decision and Prime Minister Netanyahu will fight it globally in order to rescind it.”

Naftali Bennett’s Yemina party said that “while Bennett goes to defend IDF soldiers in the international arena, Horowitz harms us from within. The brave IDF soldiers are on guard daily to protect Israel’s citizens.”

Gidon Sa’ar’s Tikva Chadasha party stated that this was an “awful statement by Nitzan Horowitz against IDF soldiers. No campaign can justify support for an anti-Semitic decision and he would do well to apologize for this.”

The decision by Hague prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate possible war crimes which occurred in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem after the June 2014 “Protective Edge” campaign has led to sharp criticism from Israel and the US. Bensouda added that Hamas war crimes in these regions would also be investigated. She stressed that opening the investigation was the first step and at this point the sides could inform the Hague that they wish themselves to investigate their citizens regarding war crimes they might be suspected of. Israel however does not recognize the authority of the ICC to investigate war crimes and has vehemently denied the accusations of such crimes.