AA / Tunis / Majdi Ismail
Israel notified the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday of its intention to appeal the arrest warrants targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu’s office said.
In a press release carried by the Israeli channel i24 news, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office specified that while awaiting a decision on the merits, Tel Aviv also asked the ICC to suspend the execution of these two arrest warrants.
Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC, based in The Hague, declared in a press release on November 21 that it had “issued arrest warrants against two individuals, Benyamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. committed at least from October 8, 2023 until at least May 20, 2024, the day on which the Prosecution filed the requests for arrest warrants.
It also unanimously rejected Israel’s challenges (concerning the Court’s jurisdiction, editor’s note) under Articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute.
Regarding the alleged crimes of the two senior Israeli officials, Pre-Trial Chamber I declared that it “found reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant, at the time of the alleged acts, “each bear criminal responsibility for the crimes following as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
”The State of Israel contests the jurisdiction of the ICC and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants issued against the prime minister and the former minister of defense,” also underlines the press release from Netanyahu’s office.
The Prime Minister met on Wednesday in Jerusalem with American Senator Lindsey Graham who kept him informed, according to the press release, “of the steps he is taking in the American Congress against the International Criminal Court and against countries that cooperate with it ”.
If the ICC rejects the appeal, ‘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.’ ‘, concludes the press release from the Israeli side.
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