Israel has formally requested that judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) withdraw arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. This request is contingent on the ICC reviewing Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction over its actions during the Gaza war.
Documents published on the ICC website late Sunday reveal that Israel has also asked the court to suspend its investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian Territories.
The documents, dated May 9 and signed by Israeli Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam, outline Israel’s position.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (initially reported as Ibrahim al-Masri), alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the conflict in Gaza.
In February, the ICC stated that judges had withdrawn the arrest warrant for Sinwar (previously identified as al-Masri/Deif) following credible reports of his death.
Israel, which does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza, is contesting the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
In April, the ICC’s appeals chamber directed the judges of the pre-trial chamber that issued the warrants to review Israel’s objections concerning the court’s jurisdiction and the legality of the arrest warrants.
The form that the ordered review will take is currently unclear, and no specific deadlines have been set for decisions on Israel’s request to withdraw the warrants and halt the investigation.
