Netanyahu requested staged criminal probe into him and Gallant to fend off ICC case

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked his justice minister to stage the launch of a criminal investigation into himself and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a bid to fend off the International Criminal Court's (ICC) pending arrest warrants over the country's military conduct in Gaza.

In a highly unusual move, Justice Minister Yariv Leven requested that government Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara open and then close a probe as a ruse to show the ICC that Israel’s courts are investigating the allegations, according to a report from Hebrew-language broadcaster Channel 12.

Netanyahu and Gallant are both facing the potential of arrest on charges of crimes against humanity, including the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza and wilfully causing suffering of Palestinians.

This week, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan urged the international body to expedite the calls for arrest warrants for the two Israeli leaders as well as Hamas leaders Yayha Sinwar and Mohammed Deif who are also being investigated for war crimes.

Attorney General Baharav-Miara reportedly rejected the plan on the grounds it was a "blatant ploy" and would not fool the international court.

The prime minister is believed to be deeply worried about the arrest warrants, which could block him from travelling to countries under the ICC's jurisdiction.

This would be highly embarrassing for Netanyahu and put him on a par with other leaders who have been dealt warrants such as Russian President Vladmir Putin and former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.

Israel has strongly rejected the ICC's investigation into its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 135,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and swathes of the territory decimated since the fighting began last October.

Since the case was formally announced in May, a British pro-Israel lobby group has attempted to derail Khan's case by accusing the top lawyer of bias and professional misconduct, one of several threats Khan says he has faced.

For months, Baharav-Miara has been urging Netanyahu to establish a state inquiry into the 7 October attack, when Hamas and armed Palestinian groups staged a major incursion into southern Israel.

But the premier is said to be against such a probe that could see him indicted with serious charges for what has been regarded as a colossal state failure over the killing of some 1,100 Israelis during the 7 October Hamas-led attack.

For months, there has been growing concern among Israel’s government to establish an official commission into 7 October and the war, in a bid to bat off international inquiries which also includes South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on accusations of genocide.

Bodies like the ICC have a mandate to investigate jurisdictions when domestic courts fail to carry out their responsibilities.

According to Israeli reports, Baharav-Miara has been advising Netanyahu to allow the establishment of a state inquiry which could serve as a deterrent to international probes.

Last week, she warned Netanyahu that the "window of opportunity" for a state-led inquiry to be established was closing, according to a report Channel 12.

The broadcaster cited a letter from the attorney general to the prime minister in which the lawyer stated that refusing to open an independent state commission - which would grant the broadest legal powers - would also breach the government’s responsibility to the public.

Netanyahu is said to prefer opening a lower-level government panel of inquiry rather than an independent state commission, but critics say this would not be sufficient to probe the 7 October disaster, considered the country’s worst single attack in its history.