Hi,
for me that is not really clear/obvious. By having a look on the initial peak short circuit current limit on page 5, the 1.2 A are stated for a junction temperature of -40 °C AND a time instance \[{t}_{m}\] of 100 µs. This time is not explained any further within the datasheet, but I assume it is the time instance when this current is measured, after turning on the PROFET into a short circuit. Have a look at Fig. 3a on page 17, where \[{I}_{L(SCp) }\] is "directly" linked to \[{t}_{m}\]. So I assume the actual inital maximum current is higher than 1.2 A at \[{T}_{j}\] = -40 °C.
On the other hand side, the figure in the upper left on page 14 shows an \[{I}_{L(SCp) }\] of about 1 A at \[{T}_{j}\] = -40 °C, \[{t}_{m}\] = 100 µs and \[{V}_{bb}\] = 13.5 V, which seems to cause the highest \[{I}_{L(SCp) }\] according to the figure in the lower left on page 14. So here \[{I}_{L(SCp) }\] is already smaller than 1.2 A at \[{t}_{m}\] = 100 µs.
In my opinion this topic would be worth to address directly to Infineon.
BR