Netanyahu and Galant arrest warrants not lifted, ICC rules

The ICC dismissed Israel’s request to overturn two arrest warrants issued against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, and Yoav Galant, the former War Minister of Israel. Both officials are under investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war.

According to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, the charges include “using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, causing severe suffering, serious physical and psychological harm, intentional killings, attacks on civilians, genocide, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The Hague Court had announced last November that there were reasonable grounds to believe in the criminal responsibility of Netanyahu and Galant. Israel requested the cancellation of these warrants in May, but on July 16, the court rejected the request, stating that there was no legal basis for annulling the arrest warrants. Israel’s attempt to appeal this decision also failed on Friday, with judges ruling the case “non-appealable.”

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Fadi Abdullah, the court’s spokesperson, emphasized that the temporary suspension of the prosecutor’s activities does not affect the validity of the arrest warrants, and the judicial process continues.

Abdullah also stated that countries party to the Rome Statute are obligated to cooperate with the court, including enforcing arrest warrants. He added: “If a country has reasons not to enforce a warrant, it must submit an official request for exemption to the court judges.”

He stressed that the decision to execute arrest warrants lies solely with the court judges, and the warrants remain valid and enforceable until they are legally revoked.