Israel notified the International Criminal Court (ICC) this Wednesday, November 27, of its intention to appeal the arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes.
Pending a decision on the merits, Israel also asked the ICC to suspend the execution of these two arrest warrants, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a press release.
The Court, which sits in The Hague, issued arrest warrants on November 21 against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, where Israel is carrying out a military operation in retaliation for the attack. unprecedented perpetration on its soil on October 7, 2023 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. An arrest warrant for the same reasons was also issued against the head of the armed wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, whom the Israeli army announced to have killed, which was never confirmed by the movement .
“The State of Israel contests the jurisdiction of the ICC”
The arrest warrant targeting Benyamin Netanyahu raised, particularly in France, the question of his immunity. An article in the 1998 Rome Statute establishing the ICC addresses the issue of immunity for leaders of countries that do not recognize the court, although it may remain open to various interpretations.
“The State of Israel contests the jurisdiction of the ICC and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued against the Prime Minister and the former Minister of Defense,” also specifies the press release from Netanyahu’s office. The Israeli Prime Minister met on Wednesday in Jerusalem with American Senator Lindsay Graham who informed him, according to the press release, “of the steps he is taking in the American Congress against the International Criminal Court and against countries that cooperate with it.”