Court says alleged war crimes committed by Israel during war are under its jurisdiction despite appeal from Jerusalem, investigation to continue
Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court’s probe into its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
On appeal, judges refused to overturn a lower court’s decision that the prosecution’s investigation into alleged crimes under its jurisdiction can include events following the terror group’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, which started the war.
The ruling means the investigation continues, and the arrest warrants issued last year for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant remain in place.
Judges found there was reason to believe that the pair may have committed war crimes by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians during the war — charges Israeli officials deny. Netanyahu’s office called the accusations “antisemitic” and said it rejected them “with disgust.”
Israel blasted the ICC’s decision. “This is yet another example of the ongoing politicization of the ICC and its blatant disregard for the sovereign rights of non-party states, as well as its own obligations under the Rome Statute,” the Foreign Ministry charged in a statement, adding: “This is what politics in the guise of ‘international law’ looks like.”
Israel also entirely rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, where it has waged a military campaign it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas following the October 7 attack. It argues that since the terms of the Oslo Accords explicitly deny any Palestinian entity legal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, the Palestinian Authority never had the right to delegate jurisdiction to the ICC in the first place.
The ICC initially also issued warrants for top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, but withdrew them after the three were killed by Israel.
In response to the issuing of warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, the United States issued a series of wide-ranging sanctions against ICC staff members, including six judges and the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.
According to a recent report, the sanctioned staffers are struggling to live and work due to the unpredictable financial and travel restrictions imposed by the US.
The court is also facing a leadership crisis after, earlier this year, Khan stepped aside pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations.
