ICC judges reject Israel’s request to withdraw Netanyahu arrest warrant
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The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Nov 21, 2024, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's war in Gaza.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- ICC judges rejected Israel's request to withdraw arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, despite Israel's jurisdictional challenges.
- The court also declined Israel's request to suspend the broader ICC investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestinian Territories.
- The ICC stated the warrants remain valid until a specific ruling on jurisdiction, with no set timeline; the US has sanctioned judges involved.
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THE HAGUE – Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on July 16 rejected Israel’s request to withdraw arrest warrants against its prime minister and former defence minister while the ICC reviews Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the conduct of the Gaza war.
In a decision published on the ICC website, the judges also rejected an Israeli request to suspend the wider ICC investigation into alleged atrocity crimes in the Palestinian Territories.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on Nov 21, 2024, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
The court said in February 2025 that judges had withdrawn the arrest warrant for al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, following credible reports of his death.
Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, where it has waged a military campaign that it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas since the deadly attack
It is contesting the warrants against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant.
Israel has argued that an appeals chamber decision in April ordering the pre-trial chamber to review Israeli objections to the court’s jurisdiction means there is no valid jurisdictional basis for the warrants.
The judges rejected that reasoning as incorrect, saying on July 15 that Israel’s jurisdictional challenge to the arrest warrants was still pending, and the warrants would remain in place until the court ruled on that issue specifically.
There is no timeline for a ruling on jurisdiction in this case.
In June, the United States imposed sanctions on four judges
Two of the sanctioned judges are on the panel that ruled to reject Israel’s request to withdraw the warrants. REUTERS
