"It's time for phase two.
Phase one of the legal battle over alleged war crimes during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge entailed numerous interim reports from the IDF and Israel's human rights critics, with no serious questioning of IDF commanders, no talking between Israel and the International Criminal Court prosecutor and everyone waiting for the UN Human Rights Council's June report...
But as of last week, there will be direct dialogue, even as Israel says it will be limited to its arguments about why there is still no State of Palestine (a position the ICC prosecutor has rejected) and why the ICC cannot second-guess the IDF's own investigations of its soldiers...
While the increased talking between Israel and the ICC is probably the most significant news for phase two, there is far more controversy in the IDF's legal divisions' investigations and general decisions...
Until now, the only indictments and serious interrogations have involved low-grade theft.
But on Monday, Lt.-Col. Neria Yeshurun is to be questioned by IDF Military Police under caution, making him the first high ranking commander to be examined in a serious criminal investigation of alleged war crimes.
This is a major turning point not only because of the particular case and the significance of a war crime case against a senior commander, but also because a case against a senior commander brings on the classic battle between the army's lawyers and its operational commanders...
Of course, all of this is a prelude to the ultimate question: Will Bensouda accept the IDF's investigations as valid or not? Whether Israel likes it or not, that answer may be tied to how many 'Yeshuruns' get indicted, and will determine the direction of the legal debate for months and years to come."