Israel petitions ICC to withdraw warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant

Amid allegations of misconduct and claims that the chief ICC prosecutor sought to prosecute Israeli leaders in order to divert attention from sexual abuse accusations, Israel presses court to drop arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and Gallant.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel has asked the International Criminal Court to revoke arrest warrants issued last year for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, arguing that chief prosecutor Karim Khan should be disqualified from involvement in the case.

On Monday night, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it submitted a petition earlier that day to the ICC, urging the court to disqualify Khan from the ICC investigation into Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The Foreign Ministry blasted Khan’s warrants against the two Israeli leaders as “baseless,” arguing that Khan had pursued the warrants to draw attention away from accusations against him of sexual assault.

“The State of Israel submitted today to the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) a request to disqualify the court’s prosecutor, Mr. Karim Khan, from involvement in proceedings concerning Israel,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“Additionally, Israel requests that the court cancel the baseless arrest warrants issued by the Prosecutor against the prime minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former Minister of Defense, Mr. Yoav Gallant.”

Last May, Khan announced his plans to charge Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

The announcement came around the time the ICC received its first complaint against Khan regarding alleged sexual abuse.

In November, the ICC formally issued Khan’s warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

Israel first petitioned the ICC to revoke the warrants on May 9, 2025, arguing the court had no jurisdiction over Israel, given that the Jewish state is not a party to the Rome Statute.

In August, it was revealed that a second woman had filed a complaint against Khan for alleged sexual misconduct, stemming from their work together more than a decade ago.

Following revelations of the complaint against Khan and reports he had pursued charges against the Israeli leaders in order to distract from the allegations, Israel filed a second motion to dismiss the warrants.

Khan, Israel argued, while seeking to “divert public attention from severe accusations against him…advanced baseless and outrageous warrants against the prime minister and the former minister of defense of a democratic state.”