Israel said on Friday it had submitted an “official challenge” to a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor for an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested the court to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“The State of Israel submitted today its official challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction, as well as the legality of the prosecutor’s requests for arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and minister of defence,” foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X.
Khan also sought warrants against top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecutor dropped the application for Haniyeh on August 2 “because of the changed circumstances caused by Mr Haniyeh’s death” in Tehran on July 31, the ICC said in a statement this month.
Deif was reportedly killed by a strike on July 13 in southern Gaza, according to Israel, though Hamas denies he is dead.
The court is still weighing Khan’s application for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
In August, Khan’s office urged the court to take action “with utmost urgency,” stating that it was “settled law that the court has jurisdiction in this situation.”
Marmorstein stated on Friday that Khan had failed to allow Israel the opportunity to investigate the claims raised by the prosecutor before proceeding.
Khan’s charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “starvation of civilians,” “extermination,” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.”
Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deals with disputes between countries, the ICC tries individuals suspected of the most heinous crimes.
It is the world’s only independent court set up to probe the gravest offences, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
However, it relies on its member states to carry out arrest warrants and has no police force of its own.
With AFP
