ICC rejects Israel's appeal that sought to invalidate Netanyahu arrest warrant Submitted by Sondos Asem on Mon, 12/15/2025 - 13:21 In major development, appeals chamber dismisses Israel's arguments that opening an investigation after 7 October was contrary to Rome Statute Off The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday ruled against Israel's arguments that the investigation into crimes in Gaza after 7 October 2023 was invalid. The decision is a significant development in the Palestine investigation, which led to arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant in November last year. Israel has filed numerous appeals to try to invalidate the warrants, including an attempt to disqualify the court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan for alleged lack of impartiality and a challenge to the court's jurisdiction in Palestine. The ICC’s investigation into war crimes committed in occupied Palestine is based on a referral by the state of Palestine in 2018. But since November 2023, seven other referrals have been filed by South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros, Bolivia, Djibouti, Chile and Mexico. In its appeal, Israel argued that the prosecutor should have notified it of a new investigation after the new referrals by the seven states, in line with Article 18 (1) of the Rome Statute which requires the prosecutor to formally notify any state concerned when an investigation is opened. This notice explains what the investigation will cover and gives the state a chance to argue that it is already investigating the same matters itself, a principle designed to stop duplication. The prosecutor did this in 2021, but Israel did not respond to the notice. Instead, it argued that the court had no legal authority over the situation at all. After the prosecutor later applied for, and obtained, arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Israel changed its position. It claimed that events after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel amounted to a completely new situation, meaning the court should have issued a fresh notification before moving ahead. The ICC’s appeals judges have rejected that argument. They ruled that the investigation into post-7 October events is covered by the original 2021 notice, so no new notification was required. Had Israel succeeded, the arrest warrants would have been invalid. The prosecutor would have had to start the notification process all over again before continuing the investigation, even though Israel could, both then and now, challenge the case by arguing that it is conducting its own investigations into Netanyahu and Gallant. More to follow... ICC arrest warrants News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0