The court also dismissed Israel’s demand to suspend the broader probe into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. According to the decision published on the ICC’s official website, the arrest warrants remain in effect pending a separate ruling on the court’s judicial authority.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant
(Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo, Haim Goldberg/Flash90)
The judges, however, dismissed this argument. No timeline has been set for a final ruling on the court’s jurisdiction, though the decision was not unexpected, as Israel anticipated the rejection. The ICC is reportedly seeking ways to scale back the case, partly due to U.S. sanctions that have rendered the court largely non-functional.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the sanctions targeted their involvement in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest or prosecute U.S. or Israeli citizens without consent, noting neither country is a party to the Rome Statute.
Netanyahu and Gallant face allegations of denying Gaza civilians essential resources like water, food, medicine, medical supplies, fuel and electricity, using starvation as a warfare tactic and committing murder, persecution and deliberate attacks on civilians. The ongoing legal battle underscores the tensions between the ICC’s actions and Israel’s rejection of its authority, with no immediate resolution in sight.
