Dutch prosecutors are considering criminal proceedings over alleged Israeli interference in the ICC | International Criminal Court

Prosecutors in the Netherlands are considering a request to open criminal proceedings against senior Israeli intelligence officials for alleged interference in International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations.

The application was filed last week by a group of 20 complainants, most of whom are Palestinians, and called on Dutch prosecutors to investigate allegations that Israel tried to derail the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories to cause failure.

According to the group’s lawyers, the criminal complaint was filed in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how Israeli intelligence sought to undermine, influence and allegedly intimidate the office of the ICC chief prosecutor over a nine-year period.

The joint investigation with Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language magazine Local Call prompted the Dutch government to raise concerns with Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands earlier this year.

As the home state of the ICC, which is located in The Hague, the Netherlands is obliged by an agreement with the court to protect the security of ICC staff and ensure that they are “free from interference of any kind”.

The criminal complaint called on Dutch authorities to “urgently” comply with their obligations to the ICC, according to excerpts from the file obtained by the Guardian.

The complainants’ lawyers argued in the statement that “Israel’s numerous attempts to influence, sabotage and stop the investigation constitute a direct violation of their rights.” [clients’] Right to justice.”

They said Israel’s spying on the ICC may have included violations of Dutch criminal law as well as violations of the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

The lawyers urged prosecutors to focus the case on senior members of Israel’s security apparatus for their alleged involvement in potentially criminal activities in the Netherlands.

A spokesman for the Dutch public prosecutor’s office said: “The complaint has been received… and is being examined.”

The Israeli embassy in the Netherlands did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office previously said the Guardian’s reporting contained “unfounded allegations intended to harm the state of Israel.”

The ICC’s Palestine investigation dates back to 2015, when the court’s former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, launched a preliminary investigation into the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, prompting Israel to resume its covert campaign against the court to start.

In May, current prosecutor Karim Khan filed arrest warrants against senior Hamas officials and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.

An ICC panel of judges is reviewing applications filed by Khan against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The Guardian’s investigation into Israeli espionage has seen Dutch MPs call on the Dutch government to launch an independent investigation and do more to protect the court.

A spokesman for the Dutch Foreign Ministry did not comment on the criminal complaint, but said the government had “continuous and good contact with the ICC” and security concerns had been discussed.

“One thing must be clear: the Netherlands is doing its utmost to ensure that the ICC can carry out its work safely, undisturbed and independently,” they said.

A spokesman for the ICC public prosecutor’s office said Khan made it clear in May that attempts to “obstruct, intimidate or unduly influence” ICC officials could constitute an Article 70 offense.

“The Office remains deeply concerned about ongoing attempts to unduly influence its activities through threats and intimidation of its officials,” they added.