ICC Rejects Israel’s Request to Cancel Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

The Hague, MINA – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s request to cancel the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The Court also turned down Israel’s plea to halt the ongoing investigation into alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a ruling announced on Wednesday, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I dismissed the two requests submitted by Israel on May 9, 2025. The requests sought to cancel, withdraw, or annul the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as to suspend the investigation initiated by the ICC Prosecutor.

The Court rejected Israel’s argument that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Palestinian territories. The ICC reaffirmed its previous decision recognizing Palestine as a State Party to the Rome Statute, which grants the Court jurisdiction over Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

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The ICC further clarified that a suspension of investigation is only applicable if a state challenges the admissibility of a case under Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute a challenge Israel has not submitted.

Israel’s request to prevent the State of Palestine from presenting its observations was also denied. The Court stated that it had sufficient information and did not require additional submissions.

The ICC has been conducting a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine since March 3, 2021. Arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were issued on November 21, 2024, over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Previously, on April 24, 2025, the ICC Appeals Chamber annulled an earlier procedural decision that rejected Israel’s objections on grounds of prematurity, sending the case back to the Pre-Trial Chamber for substantive review. [Nia]

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)