Netherlands summons Israel ambassador for explanation over spying on ICC

The Netherlands has summoned Israel’s ambassador to receive an explanation on Tel Aviv’s reported spying on the International Criminal Court (ICC), amid Israel’s ongoing war against international law and judicial institutions.

In a written statement, co-signed by Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot, Interior and Kingdom Relations minister Hugo de Jonge and Justice and Security Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, the Foreign Ministry announced that “Israeli ambassador has been asked to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with the allegations in the articles in The Guardian and +972 Magazine”.

The allegations the Ministry referred to were revelations that Israel carried out a decade-long spying “war” against the ICC through Israeli intelligence’s interception of the phone calls, messages, emails, and documents of ICC officials – including Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, and his predecessor Fatou Bensouda – which reportedly provided Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with advanced knowledge of the ICC’s plans.

Also reported were the threats by former Mossad Chief, Yossi Cohen, against the former ICC Prosecutor, Bensouda, over her inquiry into war crimes perpetrated by Israel.

“The [Dutch] government regards such activities as a form of undesirable foreign interference and considers it totally undesirable”, said the Foreign Ministry. As the host state of the ICC, the Netherlands said it is obliged under an agreement with the Court to protect the safety and security of Court staff and to ensure it is “free from interference of any kind”.

The Ministry revealed that the Dutch government is in ongoing contact with the ICC on “various security concerns”, without elaborating on the details of such matters.

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