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Israeli Attorney General presses Netanyahu to order state probe of Gaza war

Israeli soldiers and political leaders could face international arrest warrants if state fails to probe Hamas invasion and subsequent Gaza war, warns Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s attorney general is pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a full state investigation into the current Gaza war in order to reduce the likelihood Israeli leaders or soldiers will face prosecution abroad over alleged war crimes, Channel 12 reported over the weekend.

According to the report, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara penned a letter to Netanyahu and other senior Israeli leaders, warning them that unless Israel soon launches a full state probe of the war in Gaza, the events leading up to the war, and addressing allegations of misconduct, the country’s political leaders and soldiers could potentially be targeted for international arrest warrants.

“There is an extraordinary amount of topics of inquiry and severe dangers in the international relations sphere,” Baharav-Miara was quoted as writing.

Netanyahu himself, along with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, are already subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court over their handling of the Gaza war.

The prime minister has thus far rejected calls for the immediate formation of a state commission to investigate war, including Hamas’ invasion and the failures of Israel’s military and intelligence establishments to detect or respond to the October 7th attacks. Netanyahu has said that no such investigation should be launched until after the war has been concluded, arguing that a probe during wartime would divide the country and impair the war effort.

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Aside from the timing of the investigation, Baharav-Miara wrote that the composition of the commission is also crucial, warning Netanyahu not to attempt to determine who would head the probe.

“The complete separation from the political echelon and the independence of the investigation committee is of crucial importance.”

This is not the first time Baharav-Miara has urged Netanyahu to form a state investigatory commission.

In early June, after the ICC chief prosecutor announced he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Baharav-Miara wrote that there “should be no delay in establishing a state commission of inquiry investigating the events of the war.”