Israel has formally approached judges at the International Criminal Court to nullify arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. While the court deliberates on Israel’s challenge to its jurisdiction, the appeal also seeks a halt to the investigation into supposed war crimes during the Gaza war.
Documents uploaded to the ICC website on Sunday revealed that Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam forwarded the requests on May 9. Israel takes the position that the ICC lies outside the limits of its jurisdiction over its officials, and thus it is misled into issuing such warrants against them.
The court had issued arrest warrants on November 21 to Netanyahu and Gallant, and al-Masri, on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during ongoing hostilities in Gaza. Still, the arrest warrant on al-Masri was invalidated in February when it was learned that he had died.
Under the fact that Israel is not a signatory party to the Rome Statute that formed the ICC, Israel is refusing to accede to the jurisdiction that the ICC has to probe its military and government affairs, particularly in the Palestinian Territories, with such determination. It claims that its armed forces conduct an action in defense of the country and act within the context of international law.
The ICC’s appeal chamber, in April’s ruling, instructed the pre-trial judges to revisit Israel’s objections again, paying attention to the jurisdiction and legitimacy of the warrants issued. However, the ICC has failed to stipulate a time schedule for making rulings on appeals lodged by Israel.
While there continues to be debates across the world on who should be held responsible for military actions and what the legal implications are over crowded fields of conflicts, Israel has filed its petition. And the outcome of this review might make a landmark in how international tribunals will judge warfare behavior.
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