The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says Israel’s attempt to suspend arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant should be dismissed and the appeal proceedings halted.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: In a document posted on the ICC website, Karim Khan urged the Appeals Chamber of The Hague-based tribunal to turn down the Tel Aviv regime’s request, emphasizing it doesn’t meet the legal conditions required under ICC rules.
He noted that the decision Israel is challenging doesn’t involve “admissibility,” a key requirement for such appeals, but instead addresses procedural complaints about the investigation.
Khan said the decision tells Israel that it cannot file a challenge to jurisdiction before the court has made a decision under Article 58 of the Rome Statute; but also holds that such a challenge could potentially be made once that condition is satisfied.
“The decision is not a decision ‘with respect to jurisdiction’ and it is therefore not directly appealable under Article 82(1)(a) of the Statute,” he said.
“Accordingly, these appeal proceedings should be discontinued and Israel’s Suspension Request be rejected while the proceedings before Pre-Trial Chamber with respect to the same Decision follow their course.
“In any event, there is no legal basis to suspend the arrest warrants issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber,” the prosecutor stated.
Earlier this week, Israel filed a direct appeal to the Appeals Chamber, alleging that the investigation and arrest warrants were procedurally flawed.
It also demanded a suspension of the warrants while the appeal is resolved. At the same time, Israel filed an appeal with the Pre-Trial Chamber, which issued the warrants.
Last week, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
According to ICC regulations, The Hague-based court does not conduct trials in absentia, and the defendants must be physically present in order for the case to begin.
As the tribunal has no police to enforce its warrants, it depends on its member states to implement its orders.
The White House has rejected the ICC warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant.
Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to the occupying entity’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed 44,363 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 105,070 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble./Press TV