Netanyahu’s office made this known on Wednesday, noting that U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had updated Netanyahu “on a series of measures he is promoting in the U.S. Congress against the International Criminal Court and against countries that would cooperate with it”.
The Israeli government has informed the International Criminal Court that it will contest arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over their conduct of the Gaza war.
Netanyahu’s office made this known on Wednesday, noting that U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham had updated Netanyahu “on a series of measures he is promoting in the U.S. Congress against the International Criminal Court and against countries that would cooperate with it”.
The International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The ICC also ordered the arrest of Israeli former defence chief Yoav Gallant following a motion by the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced in May.
Khan was seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Al-Masri for alleged crimes connected to the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The ICC had earlier dismissed Israel’s argument opposing the court’s jurisdiction on the matter.
“Israel today submitted a notice to the International Criminal Court of its intention to appeal to the court, along with a demand to delay the execution of the arrest warrants,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Court spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, told journalists that if requests for an appeal were submitted, it would be up to the judges to decide.
The court’s rules allow for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that would pause or defer an investigation or a prosecution for a year, with the possibility of renewing that annually.
After a warrant is issued, the country involved or a person named in an arrest warrant can also issue a challenge to the jurisdiction of the court or the admissibility of the case.