Israel denies authority, legitimacy of ICC arrest warrants against PM Netanyahu, Gallant

JERUSALEM: The Prime Minister of Israel noted that the State of Israel denies both the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants that have been issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

The details were shared in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter). In the follow-up posts, it was noted, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, with US Senator Lindsey Graham, who updated him on the efforts that he is advancing in the US Congress against the ICC and countries that have cooperated with it”.

The State of Israel denies the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants that have been issued against the Prime Minister and the former Defense Minister.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 27, 2024

Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of “crimes against humanity and war crimes.” The charges include allegations of targeting civilians and enforcing policies of starvation in Gaza.

In the series of posts by the Israeli PM on X, it was also noted, “Parallel to the efforts in Congress, Israel submitted an announcement to the ICC today regarding its intention to appeal to the court along with a demand to delay implementation of the arrest warrants”.

The Israeli PM’s official account also said, “Israel’s notice of appeal shows in detail to what degree the decision to issue the arrest warrants was baseless and without any factual or legal foundation whatsoever”. It observed, “Should the ICC reject the appeal, this will underscore to Israel’s friends in the US and around the world how biased the ICC is against the State of Israel”.

Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concerns over the decision by the ICC in a press briefing, stating, “We fundamentally reject the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials”. She criticised the prosecutor’s haste in seeking the warrants and pointed out troubling process errors that led to this outcome.

Jean-Pierre had reaffirmed, “We fundamentally reject that the ICC has jurisdiction over the situation, and so that’s something that we’ve been pretty clear about and we’ll continue to”. This statement came as the US continues to show support for Israel amid the ICC’s charges against Israel’s leaders. (ANI)