Israel told the International Criminal Court on Wednesday that it will appeal against arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister.
It also asked the court to suspend the warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant pending the outcome of the appeal, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The ICC issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant last week on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack.
The warrants drew furious condemnation from Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians.
The prime minister accused the court of anti-Semitism and vowed not to be deterred from defending Israel.
"The State of Israel challenges the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued," Netanyahu's office said.
"If the court rejects this request, it will further demonstrate to Israel's friends in the United States and around the world how biased the International Criminal Court is against the State of Israel," it added.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif. Israel said in early August it had killed Deif in an air strike in southern Gaza in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.
The court said on November 21 it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
In a related development, the French foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that provisions for immunity from prosecution at the International Criminal Court apply to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, clarifying that the Israeli leader was covered by immunity rules that apply to states which are not a party to the ICC. Israel is not an ICC member.
"A state cannot be held to act in a way that is incompatible with its obligations in terms of international law with regards to immunities granted to states which are not party to the ICC," a French statement said.
"Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other ministers in question, and must be taken into consideration should the ICC ask us to arrest them and hand them over," it said.
With AFP
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