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Israel informed the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday that it will appeal against the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.
Last week, a warrant was issued for both men along with Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe all three men bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The Israeli government also requested that the court should “delay implementation of the arrest warrants.”
The arrest warrants drew fierce condemnation from Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians. The Prime Minister accused the court of anti-Semitism and promised not to be deterred from defending Israel.
“The State of Israel challenges the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued”, said Netanyahu’s office. “If the court rejects this request, it will further demonstrate to Israel’s friends in the United States and around the world how biased the International Criminal Court is against the State of Israel.”
Last week, the US President Joe Biden also condemned the warrants, calling them “outrageous.” He said, “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
The ICC has not made a specific comment on Israel’s appeal. However, ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah said, “If appeals are submitted, it would be for the judges to decide.”
Meanwhile, France has declared that Netanyahu is covered by immunity rules that apply to states not part of ICC.
“A state cannot be held to act in a way that is incompatible with its obligations in terms of international law with regards to immunities granted to states which are not party to the ICC”, the French Foreign Ministry said.
“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other ministers in question, and must be taken into consideration should the ICC ask us to arrest them and hand them over.”
On November 21, the ICC stated that it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Deif on the hand, is believed to be responsible for crimes against humanity of murder and the war crimes of murder amongst others.
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