The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israel’s legal challenge seeking to block an investigation into alleged war crimes against the Palestinian people in the occupied Gaza Strip. The latest ruling has dealt a blow to Israel’s efforts to derail the case.
During their ruling on Monday, the judges declined to overturn a previous decision by the lower court, which had ruled in favour of the investigation. The court not only discarded Israel’s challenge but also stood by its decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and has repeatedly denied committing war crimes in Gaza. The ICC prosecutor had sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in May 2024, which were issued in November 2024.
Israel argued that the post-October 7 attack constituted a new situation requiring fresh authorisation and therefore demanded that the investigation must not be allowed to take place, considering the casualties were collateral damage. The Judges, though, rejected the argument, ruling that the original notification was issued in 2021, when the ICC formally opened its investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine, and already covered later events.
They added that there was no need for a new notification, meaning the warrants against PM and his former defence minister remain valid. Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 70,663 Palestinians and injured 171,139 since October 7, 2023.
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