Israel submits legal challenge to ICC warrants, arguing it should investigate itself

In two legal briefs filed, Israel says it is challenging both the legality of the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the court’s jurisdiction. 

In May, the court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced he is seeking arrest warrants for the two Israeli officials as well as three members of Hamas leadership: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. 

Haniyeh has since been assassinated in Iran in an operation that Israel has not confirmed or denied, and the ICC has ended its court proceedings against him. And while Israel says it has killed Deif, Hamas has yet to confirm his demise. The ICC is seeking confirmation on the death to end their court proceedings.

Khan’s request for the warrants is based on what he believes are war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated from 7 Oct 2023 onwards, after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent war on Gaza. 

In a statement, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said his government is challenging the complementarity principle, a premise of international law that is fundamental to the functions of the ICC. 

It stems from Article 17 of the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC in 2002. 

The court is obliged to step in and exercise its jurisdiction when states are deemed “unwilling” or “unable” to do so. 

“Israel detailed the ICC prosecutor’s wrongful breach of the Court’s Statute and the principle of complementarity, in failing to provide Israel with the opportunity to exercise its right to investigate by itself the claims raised by the prosecutor before proceeding,” Marmorstein said. 

Khan has urged the court to issue the warrants “with the utmost urgency”. It is unclear why they have not yet been produced. 

Should they materialise, this would be the first time the ICC is pursuing western-backed officials. 

“No other democracy with an independent and respected legal system like that which exists in Israel has been treated in this prejudicial manner by the Prosecutor,” Marmorstein said on Friday.

“Nevertheless, Israel remains steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and justice, and will continue to protect its citizens against the ongoing attacks and atrocities by Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies in the region.”

‘Disturbing’ footage from Israeli operation

White House national security communications advisor John Kirby told reporters on Friday that footage which appears to be Israeli soldiers throwing Palestinians off a rooftop is being investigated by Israel, per its assurances to the US. 

Kirby said the video is “deeply disturbing, if it’s proven to be authentic”. 

“It clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behaviour by professional soldiers,” he added. “We reached out immediately to our Israeli counterparts about it, and we pressed them for more details. They have assured us that they’re going to investigate this and that there will be proper accountability if it’s warranted.”

The US will be “eager” to see what the Israeli military finds, Kirby said. 

“As always, we expect that investigation [will] be done thoroughly and transparently.” 

Several macabre videos from different angles emerged on social media on Thursday depicting Israeli troops climbing onto a roof in Qabatiya, a city in the north of the occupied West Bank, where they are seen taking each of the bodies and throwing them down, one by one.

In one clip, a soldier is seen repeatedly kicking one of the bodies until it falls over the edge.

Under international law, armed forces are required to treat enemy bodies with respect, prevent them from mutilation, and return them to their families. Israel has frequently held the bodies of slain Palestinians for months, if not years. Families of the dead call this collective punishment. 

Ten-hour offensive

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army launched a wide-scale military operation in Qabatiya, which lasted nearly 10 hours.

Israeli forces besieged a house and killed three Palestinians inside, blocking Palestinian Red Crescent Society teams from reaching the house.

Elsewhere during the attack, Israeli forces bombed a vehicle near a commercial complex in the town, setting it ablaze and killing two people, the Wafa news agency reported.

In total, at least seven Palestinians were killed in the offensive throughout the day.

The Qabatiya municipality identified the seven killed as Mohammad Abu Rob; Omar Hamza Abu Rob; Ahmad Zakarneh; Mustafa Zakarneh; Fadi Hanaysheh; Mohammad Kmeil; and Shadi Sami Zakarneh. 

In the US, the Council on American Islamic Relations called the rooftop footage “sickening and depraved”. 

It “should shock the conscience of all Americans and must result in concrete actions by the Biden administration, which is enabling and excusing Israel’s war crimes,” the statement said.