Israeli State Prosecutor Amit Aisman is seeking to open a criminal investigation into National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for allegedly inciting violence against Palestinians in Gaza to show the International Criminal Court (ICC) it is holding Israeli officials to account for such actions, Tuesday, according to Anadolu.
Last May, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Palestinian and international human rights groups have also been campaigning for Ben-Gvir to be included repeated inflammatory and calls for “shooting Palestinian prisoners in the head instead of giving them more food.”
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that Aisman asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for permission to open a criminal investigation into Ben-Gvir.
Observers believe the probe is an attempt to show the ICC Israel is abiding by its directives to look into and punish any individual or group that violates the Genocide Convention’s ban on inciting genocide according to the Turkish news agency.
Ben-Gvir, the leader of the far-right Jewish Power Party, said this is “unbelievable! The state prosecutor is trying to make an Israeli minister stand trial for ‘incitement’ against citizens of an enemy state,” he said.
“Instead of the Shin Bet and the state prosecutor carrying out assassinations in Gaza, they are trying to assassinate an Israeli minister. It won’t succeed.”
The killing spree of Palestinians in Gaza continues with the total death toll now standing at 37,000.
The displacement toll accross the Gaza Strip is 1.9 million people. About 80% of the Palestinian population – are now, according to the UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza.