ICC shoots down bid to nix Netanyahu arrest warrant

International Criminal Court rejects Israeli request to cancel the arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant, rules that ongoing ICC probe of Israel will continue.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The International Criminal Court has rejected an Israeli appeal to withdraw arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s handling of the war against the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, judges from the ICC handed down a ruling rebuffing Israel’s request to strike down the November 21st warrants on the basis of challenges to the ICC’s jurisdiction.

Israel, which like the US is not a party to the ICC convention, has rejected not only the accusations of wrongdoing by Netanyahu and Gallant in the Gaza war, but also chief ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s claim the ICC has jurisdiction over Israel.

The ICC has argued since 2021 that it has jurisdiction over cases regarding actions in Judea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and eastern Jerusalem, citing the Palestinian Authority’s membership in the Rome Statute.

Israel does not recognize the PA’s unilateral claim to statehood, first declared in 1988, and rejects the legal argument that the ICC’s jurisdiction applies to areas claimed by the Palestinian Authority as sovereignty territory.

In April, the ICC Appeals Chamber found that there was a legitimate basis to Israel’s challenge against the ICC’s claim of jurisdiction, and ordered ICC judges to review the decision to issue the arrest warrants.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the ICC dismissed Israel’s claim that the Appeals Chamber’s April decision constituted a rejection of ICC jurisdiction in the matter, stating that Israel’s petition in the matter is still pending.

The court also said that the arrest warrants will remain in force unless and until the question of jurisdiction is decided in Israel’s favor.

The ICC has not provided a deadline for ruling on Israel’s challenge.