Public Statements by Israeli Leaders Are Clear Admissions of Intent to Commit War Crimes and Ethnic Cleansing

The Legal Department of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine has issued an extensive report addressing the slow procedures of the International Criminal Court (ICC). While such delays may be justified in certain contexts, in the Palestinian case—amid an ongoing genocidal war now in its second year—they have become a serious problem, particularly given the pressure exerted on the Court and its judges by states directly concerned with its rulings, including member states of the Rome Statute.
The report states that political interference and pressure on the ICC, including sanctions imposed on its judges, can deeply affect the course of justice. The Court continues to face multiple forms of blackmail by certain states—ranging from threats to kill judges, staff, and their families, to moral defamation campaigns against judges—all of which constitute criminal acts under Article 70 of the Rome Statute.
The report further notes the Court’s and its spokespersons’ absence from engaging with the ongoing daily crimes committed openly before the world against Palestinian civilians, especially those seeking food and medicine. The public statements of Israeli ministers and officials promising to “open the gates of hell in Gaza,” targeting residential towers, and urging residents of northern and central Gaza to move south—along with Netanyahu’s open admission that the goal is to push the population southward as a prelude to forced displacement—all constitute explicit confessions of intent to commit war crimes and ethnic cleansing, as defined by the Rome Statute. The report calls for the inclusion of such statements by Israeli officials—such as the “Minister of Killing and Genocide,” Israel Katz, among others—into the case file already before the Court.
According to the Legal Department, there is overwhelming evidence—documented by local and international legal and humanitarian institutions—of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation that qualify as war crimes and crimes against humanity. These cases only require judicial examination and comparison with the explicit provisions of the Rome Statute, which clearly define such crimes. All the elements of war crimes are present. For example:
Systematic Destruction of Homes and Civilian Infrastructure:
Numerous Israeli officials have expressed the army’s intent to destroy and level residential areas entirely. Article 7 of the Rome Statute states that a crime against humanity occurs when committed “as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy.”
Forced and Mass Displacement of Civilians:
This policy has become a central objective of Israel’s war and a cornerstone of its strategy. Media reports are filled with statements from Netanyahu, his defense minister, and other cabinet members expressing intent to enforce this plan through daily massacres. The Rome Statute prohibits “deportation or forcible transfer of population,” defining it as “the forced displacement of persons lawfully present in an area, by expulsion or other coercive acts.”
This is exactly what is happening in Gaza and also in the West Bank, where the Court holds jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Starvation and Deprivation of Water as a Means of Killing:
The United Nations has officially confirmed that famine has taken hold in Gaza Governorate, with 1.07 million people facing Phase 4 of acute food insecurity. It is well-documented that Israel has used starvation as a weapon against civilians, a fact admitted by several Israeli military and political figures.
The Rome Statute defines genocide (Article 6) as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” including “the deprivation of access to food and medicine.”
Enforced Disappearance:
UN Human Rights Council experts have reported cases of enforced disappearance. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society has also documented a surge in such crimes against thousands of Gaza residents since the beginning of the war, alongside numerous media reports confirming large-scale disappearances.
The Rome Statute (Article 7) defines enforced disappearance as “the arrest, detention, or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons.”
While the Legal Department acknowledges the difficulties the ICC faces in collecting evidence, hearing witnesses, and operating without the cooperation of many states—some of which have openly waged a campaign against the Court—it warns that the longer investigations and preliminary proceedings drag on, the more evidence fades, the more criminals conceal their acts, and the more time they gain to evade accountability. Such delays also render the Court’s rulings vulnerable to political bargaining. Thus, slow justice—regardless of its causes—neither serves the victims nor deters the criminals, especially amid a genocide such as the one being committed in Gaza for nearly two years.
The Department expresses hope that the delays are due to the Court’s adherence to an April 2025 judicial order maintaining confidentiality of deliberations and prohibiting the publication of any information regarding investigations or potential arrest warrants. This confidentiality aims to shield judges and witnesses—whether individuals, associations, or legal organizations—from pressure and retaliation, particularly since Israel and the United States have previously imposed sanctions on human rights institutions cooperating with the ICC.
The report concludes that resolving the issue of slow proceedings and trials partly depends on ensuring protection for the Court and its judges by member states of the Rome Statute, and on recognizing the Court’s decisions as expressions of the collective will of most of the world’s nations (125 states). The silence of many countries regarding the pressures and sanctions imposed on the ICC amounts to complicity in perpetuating impunity—both for those who directly commit crimes and for those who aid, abet, or incite their commission.
If the Rome Statute were fully implemented, the prisons of the International Criminal Court would be filled with Israeli occupation soldiers, officers, and others from supporting and instigating states responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.