ICC Rejects Israel's Plea to Cancel Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu
The plea also demand ICC to suspend the court's ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a decision released Wednesday, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I dismissed Israel's dual petition, submitted on May 9, 2025.
The petition had sought either the withdrawal or invalidation of the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, and a halt to the Office of the Prosecutor's investigation into alleged crimes committed in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The Chamber reaffirmed the court's jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories, rejecting Israel's central claim that the ICC lacks legal authority over the matter.
The judges emphasized that the court's prior determinations on jurisdiction remain valid and unaltered by an April 24 ruling by the Appeals Chamber, which had remanded an earlier procedural decision back to the Pre-Trial Chamber for further consideration.
'The Appeals Chamber's judgment of 24 April 2025 cannot be interpreted as undermining the Court's jurisdiction,' the ruling stated.
The Chamber also clarified that under Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute, suspension of an investigation is only applicable when a state formally challenges the admissibility of a case, not merely its jurisdiction. The judges noted that Israel had not initiated such a challenge.
In addition, the court denied Israel's request to exclude the State of Palestine from submitting views in the proceedings. It ruled that no additional submissions were necessary at this stage, as sufficient information had already been provided.
The ruling marks a significant reaffirmation of the ICC's authority in investigating crimes in the Palestinian territories.
The court first established its jurisdiction in a February 2021 decision, recognizing Palestine as a State Party to the Rome Statute and confirming that its jurisdiction extends to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor opened a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine on March 3, 2021.
On November 21, 2024, the Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, citing reasonable grounds to believe they bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The warrants were the result of a years-long investigation into Israel's conduct in the occupied territories.
Israel had challenged the court's jurisdiction under Article 19(2) of the Rome Statute on September 23, 2024, but an earlier ruling dismissing the objection was annulled by the Appeals Chamber in April 2025. That decision paved the way for the substantive judgment delivered this week.
Israel, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, has consistently rejected the legitimacy of the ICC's investigation, calling it politically motivated and legally baseless.
The latest ruling, however, signals that the court will continue moving forward with its examination of the situation in Palestine.
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