By Quds News Network
The Hague (Quds News Network)- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s attempt to cancel arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The decision was announced on tod by Pre-Trial Chamber I.
Israel had asked the ICC to withdraw or invalidate the warrants. It also called on the Court to suspend its investigation into crimes committed in Palestine. A senior Israeli legal team submitted the request on May 9, 2025.
But the ICC judges ruled that the arrest warrants remain valid. The judges said the Court had the legal authority to issue them. They rejected Israel’s claim that the warrants violated the suspects’ human rights or international law.
“The warrants include valid jurisdictional findings,” the judges stated. They also said that reversing a procedural ruling earlier this year did not affect the legal foundation of the warrants.
The ruling also clarified another key point. Israel wanted the ICC to pause its investigation until a final decision is made on jurisdiction. The Court refused.
Under Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute, an investigation can be suspended if a state challenges the admissibility of a case. But Israel only challenged the Court’s jurisdiction, not the admissibility. Therefore, the ICC said the investigation will go on.
The Chamber noted that only admissibility challenges can halt investigations. Jurisdictional challenges, it ruled, do not carry the same effect.
Palestine had asked to submit its own observations on Israel’s request. But the Court said it already had enough information and declined to hear additional arguments from the Palestinian side at this stage.
The decision marks a major step in the ICC’s ongoing investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Court began the investigation in 2021 and issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024.
Israel does not recognize the Court’s jurisdiction. However, the ICC has ruled that it has legal authority over the territories occupied by Israel since 1967; Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The ICC’s investigation focuses on crimes committed since June 13, 2014.
Despite mounting political pressure, the Court reaffirmed its position. The investigation will move forward, and the arrest warrants remain active.
17 July 2025
Source: countercurrents.org