Israel formally challenges potential ICC arrest warrants against top brass

The ICC has no jurisdiction as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court.

By JNS

Israel filed an official petition to the International Criminal Court that it drop the prosecutor’s request to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

“Israel initiated two separate legal proceedings,” the Foreign Ministry statement read.

The first legal case challenges the legal authority of the ICC to file such arrest warrants, the statement said.

The second proceeding argues that chief prosecutor Karim Khan violated the court’s constitution and the principle of complementarity by not granting Israel the right to investigate itself the claims made by the ICC.

“Various leading countries (including member states of the ICC), organizations, and legal experts from around the world share the positions presented by Israel on these issues,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

“No other democracy with an independent and respected judicial system—as exists in the State of Israel—has received such discriminatory treatment from the prosecutor,” the statement went on to say.

“Despite this, Israel remains steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and justice, and will continue to protect its citizens from the ongoing attacks and atrocities of Hamas and Iran’s other terrorist affiliates, in accordance with international law.”

Earlier in the month, Khan pressed ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber to file the arrest warrants, urging action ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled address to the United Nations General Assembly on Sep. 27, Israel’s Ynet outlet reported.

“The prosecution respectfully requests that the Chamber issue its decision on the applications for the warrants of arrest against Yahya Sinwar, [Mohammed] Deif, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant with utmost urgency,” Khan wrote in a six-page letter to the ICC justices.

Netanyahu excoriated the chief prosecutor, stating that the comparison between Israelis and Hamas terrorists is “pure antisemitism.”

“Unfortunately, we have seen from the beginning that the proceedings in The Hague are politically biased and have no professional legal basis whatsoever,” the premier added in a statement published by his office.

The ICC has no jurisdiction as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court.

But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court claimed jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state exists under international law.

The 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obligated to act on any arrest warrant it issues, raising the possibility that the two Israeli leaders could be placed under arrest while visiting these places.