Israeli Court Verdict May Pose Far-Reaching Implications for Israel at the International Criminal Court

"A court case that reverberated across the country on Wednesday may see even greater ripple effects beyond its borders, as far as the International Criminal Court and Israel's legitimacy are concerned.

At the ICC, Hebron shooter Elor Azaria's manslaughter conviction may affirm the credibility of Israel's apparatus for prosecuting its own soldiers.

This is important because it is the decisive issue affecting whether the ICC will dive deeper into the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

If Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda finds that the IDF properly prosecutes its own for alleged war crimes, then she is barred from intervening, as the ICC is only a court of last resort when a country fails to prosecute its own.

If she finds that the IDF does not properly prosecute its own, she can decide to move to a full criminal investigation... For the ICC, if it invalidates Israeli prosecutions, it will have to explain away this case to the US, Europe and others.

The recent UN Security Council Resolution still hangs as a cloud over Israel's legal community and legitimacy... But if there were ever an answer to defang the damage caused by the Security Council resolution in the legitimacy battle, Israel's military courts just gave one."