262
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has declined Israel’s appeal to nullify arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, while reaffirming the continuation of its probe into reported war crimes within the Palestinian Territories.
In a ruling released on Wednesday on the ICC website, the judges rejected Israel’s request to suspend the warrants and freeze the wider investigation, saying the court’s jurisdictional examination remains pending and does not make current arrest warrants invalid.
The ICC initially issued warrants on November 21, charging Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri with war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. The court withdrew the warrant against al-Masri, also referred to as Mohammed Deif, in February after receiving credible reports of his death.
Israel has refused to accept the ICC’s jurisdiction at all times, claiming that its military operations in Gaza were undertaken in an effort to neutralize Hamas in reaction to the group’s lethal attack on the Israeli ground on October 7, 2023. The Israeli government insists that it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the court that governs over it, and should therefore be exempt from the court’s jurisdiction.
Referring to an April decision by the ICC appeals chamber, Israel asserted that the court did not have valid jurisdiction and called for the withdrawal of the arrest warrants. ICC judges, however, decreed this interpretation as “incorrect” and added that the legal challenge to jurisdiction is still under review. Until a final decision is reached, Netanyahu and Gallant’s warrants will stand.
There is no established timeline at present for the court to make a ruling on Israel’s jurisdictional complaints.
In an inflammatory reaction to the ICC’s move, the United States sanctioned four ICC judges last June, two of whom were involved in Wednesday’s decision, heightening tensions between Washington and The Hague.
