Israeli media said on Saturday, July 4, that the Minister of Security in the occupation government, Itamar Ben Gvir, canceled a planned visit to New York in the middle of this week to participate in the United Nations Police Chiefs' Summit, fearing that he would be prosecuted and arrested for his positions, policies and practices against the Palestinians.
The Haaretz newspaper reported that Ben-Gvir "canceled his visit to New York to participate in the UN police chiefs' summit, fearing protests against him by rights groups and growing demands for his arrest and investigation."
"The decision to cancel the visit came after internal security and political assessments indicated that Ben-Gvir may face protests, in addition to legal pressures linked to calls to prosecute him over his positions and policies," it added.
Lawsuit awaits in New York
The Jerusalem Post said Ben-Gvir had canceled his participation in the police chiefs' conference scheduled for this week in New York, amid reports of legal pressures "that may be behind the decision."
The Belgian-based human rights organization Hind Rajab "is behind the cancellation of the visit, after legal complaints were filed in the United States against Ben-Gvir over his policies regarding Palestinian prisoners."
According to the newspaper, the organization reported that it "submitted a request to the US Department of Justice to prosecute him and also called on the New York State Attorney General to open a formal investigation against him," and the newspaper quoted the organization as saying that "accountability is no longer theoretical, and that it intends to continue pressuring the US authorities to take legal action" against Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir's office did not confirm that the cancellation of the visit was the result of these pressures or legal concerns, without providing an official explanation of the reasons for the decision.
No arrests in New York
The United States has historically not seen an Israeli official arrested or detained in New York or any other U.S. state in connection with war crimes or abuses against Palestinians, despite the intensity of civil lawsuits filed in U.S. courts from time to time.
This "working immunity" dates back to the Headquarters Agreement, which obliges Washington, as the host country of the United Nations, to grant immunities and visas to officials participating in UN meetings, which prevents local or federal authorities from arresting them while they are in New York for official duties.
The United States also refuses to apply the principle of universal jurisdiction to its allies and to prevent its courts from hearing criminal cases against foreign officials in ministerial capacity.
Europe. The arena that witnessed actual arrest attempts
Reports and specialized research centers have confirmed that the real concerns of Israeli government officials are emerging in European capitals, whose laws allow local courts to issue arrest warrants based on human rights complaints.
In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for war crimes in Gaza, prompting her to cancel her visit immediately before the British government intervened to amend the laws and grant her temporary immunity.
It noted that Israeli General Doron Almog stayed on a plane at Heathrow Airport in 2005 after being told that police were waiting for him to execute an arrest warrant and returned directly to Tel Aviv without disembarking.
According to experts, Ben-Gvir's cancellation of his visit to New York is not related to the possibility of his criminal arrest, but to the fear that American civil lawsuits will turn into embarrassing court summons or the loss of administrative immunity within the corridors of the United Nations, which could put him in a sensitive diplomatic position.
On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
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