The ICC Rejects Request to Cancel Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

SadaNews - The International Criminal Court has rejected the request to cancel the arrest warrants and suspend the investigation against the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The Pre-Trial Chamber I announced its rejection of Israel's request, dated May 9, 2025, to cancel the arrest warrants and suspend the investigation against Netanyahu and Gallant.

The court's decision stated that Israel submitted two separate requests in this matter; the first requested the withdrawal of the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, or their cancellation or declaration of nullity, and the second requested the Prosecutor's Office to suspend the ongoing investigation regarding the situation in Palestine.

The decision pointed out that the reasons for objection provided by Israel were rejected, in which it claimed that the ICC lacked jurisdiction to consider crimes committed on Palestinian territories.

The chamber indicated that, according to Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute, suspension of the investigation only applies when a State challenges the admissibility of the case, whereas Israel did not challenge the "admissibility" of the investigation.

On February 5, 2021, the ICC ruled that Palestine is a State Party to the Rome Statute, and that the court's jurisdiction over Palestinian territories extends to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which have been occupied since 1967.

On March 3, 2021, the Prosecutor's Office announced the opening of an investigation into the Palestinian situation.

Israel challenged the court's jurisdiction on September 23, 2024, under Article 19(2) of the Rome Statute.

On November 21, 2024, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, the occupying power, has been conducting acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, resulting in over 198,000 martyrs and injured, most of whom are children and women, along with more than 10,000 missing persons, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals.