The Hague rejects suspension of Netanyahu's arrest warrant

The ICC Appeals Chamber rejected the request to cancel or suspend the arrest warrants issued against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli regime's Prime Minister, and Yoav Gallant, its former Minister of War.

The court emphasized that the Israeli regime's acceptance of the ICC's judicial authority is not a prerequisite for continuing investigations into crimes in Palestine. The ICC further stated that investigations indicate Netanyahu and Gallant oversaw attacks targeting civilian populations and used starvation as a method of warfare.

In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and the former Israeli Minister of War on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The issuance of these warrants obligated all 125 countries that signed the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, to arrest and hand over these two individuals to the court in The Hague.

The Israeli regime's Prime Minister traveled to Hungary, an ICC member state, in early April. The ICC requested that the Hungarian government arrest him, but Budapest refused to comply and announced its withdrawal from the ICC.

The ICC condemned Hungary for failing to execute Netanyahu's arrest warrant. An ICC spokesperson stated that member states do not have the unilateral right to determine the validity of the court's legal decisions and emphasized that member states must implement The Hague's rulings.