No Criminal Probe Against Israel Finance Minister, Likud MK Despite Their Calls to 'Destroy' Gaza

New Delhi: Israel’s chief legal authorities have dismissed the possibility of a criminal inquiry into incendiary remarks by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and Likud’s Nissim Vaturi, who had publicly urged the “total destruction” of Palestine, Haaretz reported. 

The top two Israeli legal officials, attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara and state prosecutor Amit Isman argued that the probe cannot be conducted as the remarks were either “vague” or “do not constitute a criminal offense”.

Both Smotrich and Vaturi, on multiple occasions, have called to destroy Palestinian cities and obliterate the population, including children and elderly. In November last year, after an Israeli strike, Smotrich had stated that “it is possible to create a situation where Gaza’s population in two years will be less than half its current size”. Vaturi had called to “burn Gaza” and has asserted on multiple occasions that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza. 

Under mounting international scrutiny, Israel had begun reviewing public remarks made by senior government officials.

According to Haaretz, attorney general Baharav-Miara and state prosecutor Isman said they could not launch a probe against Nissim Vaturi as “the content of the remarks is vague.” They also noted that extreme caution must be exercised before initiating a criminal investigation against a Knesset member over speech-related offences, citing their parliamentary immunity.

In the case of finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, the officials stated that “after reviewing the full scope of the minister's remarks, they determined that his statements do not constitute a criminal offense, and therefore there is no basis to order an investigation.

The latest decision to not prosecute the ministers was taken just three days before the International Criminal Court announced that it would issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, Haaretz reported.

The complaint against Smotrich and Vaturi was filed by lawyer Itay Mack, who argued that their statements “fall outside the protection of free speech” and said the officials' justification for inaction “adds insult to injury.”

“The Attorney General and State Prosecutor are granting legitimacy and normalising inciteful rhetoric by Jewish public officials. Worse still, they are engaging in selective and racist law enforcement—Jewish officials enjoy protected speech, while similar remarks from non-Jewish citizens result in investigations, arrests, and indictments,” Mack told Haaretz.

In December last year, the state prosecutor decided not to investigate Rabbi Eliyahu Mali after he described Palestinian children as future terrorists.