The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s appeal to cancel arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
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.
Netanyahu and Gallant were issued the arrest warrants in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in Gaza since October 2023.
It was the first instance in the court’s 22-year history that it issued arrest warrants for western-allied senior officials. The arrest warrants were hailed as a “historic decision” by Palestinians.
Israeli officials condemned them as “antisemitic”.
Since then, the ICC has faced a campaign of criticism, threats and punitive measures by Israel’s ally, the United States.
Washington sanctioned several ICC judges and prosecutors, branding the court “a national security threat”.
The ICC called the sanctions an effort against “the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world.” The ICC is a global tribunal tasked with prosecuting individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression.
All 124 state parties to the Rome Statute, including all EU members, are under a legal obligation to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant and surrender them to the court. However, the court has no enforcement powers, and a trial cannot commence in absentia.
Led by Netanyahu and Gallant, Israel launched a devastating war on the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023 following a surprise Hamas attack that left around 1,180 Israelis killed.
In two years of relentless bombing, a devastating ground invasion and a strict siege, Israel killed more than 68,000 Palestinians – over 80 percent of them believed to be civilians, according to leaked data from the Israeli military. At least 9,500 others are missing under the rubble and presumed dead.
The assault also caused widespread famine and led to the destruction or damage of more than 83 percent of all structures in Gaza – including homes, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches.
Numerous international bodies, UN experts and countries have classified Israel’s actions as acts of genocide against the Palestinian people.
US President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that the war had ended, after Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Egypt.
Image credit: A demonstrator holds up a placard depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind bars during a rally in support of Palestinians in Rome on 30 November 2024 (AFP/Alberto Pizzoli)
( SOURCE: MIDDLE EAST EYE )
