THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s appeal to overturn the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza.
In May, Israel requested the ICC withdraw the warrants while a separate challenge over the court’s jurisdiction was still under review.
The court dismissed the request on 16 July, ruling there was “no legal basis” to cancel the warrants while the jurisdiction issue remained unresolved.
Israel sought to appeal that decision a week later, but on Friday, ICC judges ruled that “the issue, as framed by Israel, is not subject to appeal”.
Although Israel is not a member of the ICC, the State of Palestine was granted membership in 2015. Accordingly, the court can investigate Israeli individuals for crimes committed in occupied Palestine, which includes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza since October 2023.
The war crimes include using “starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
The ICC called the sanctions an effort against “the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world”. — QNN
