Netanyahu to appeal ICC arrest warrant against him

 

Israel's prime minister said through his office that he is seeking to "delay the implementation" of the measures against Netanyahu and his former defense minister.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday (11/27/2024) that he will appeal the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him and his former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, both accused of war crimes for the Israeli forces' offensive against the Gaza Strip, where almost 45,000 people have died since October 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

"Israel today submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) a notice of its intention to appeal to the court with a request to delay the execution of the arrest warrants," the prime minister's office said in a statement. The notification, the note highlighted, "reveals in detail how implausible and lacking in factual or legal basis the decision to issue the arrest warrants was."

In addition, the Israeli government stated that it does not recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court or the corresponding arrest warrants. The arrest warrant is, however, a headache for Netanyahu, who is prevented from travelling to countries that have signed the Rome Accord. France, which has signed the accord, has questioned its application because Netanyahu is from a country that does not recognise the court's jurisprudence.

Penalties for cooperation?

Israeli media revealed that France's participation in the ceasefire negotiations in Lebanon was conditional on Paris announcing that it would not comply with the arrest warrant. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, said it would respect whatever the local courts decide on whether or not to apply the arrest warrant. A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the country has not found itself in that situation so far, since "no one accused by the ICC has ever traveled to the United Kingdom."

The announcement of the appeal came after a meeting between Netanyahu and US Senator Lindsey Graham in Jerusalem, where they discussed initiatives promoted in the US Congress to sanction countries that cooperate with the ICC. In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, the Court issued arrest warrants against Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri.

DZC (EFE, Reuters, dpa)