ICC prosecutor insists court has power to issue warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Sinwar

Demanding urgent ruling, Karim Khan asserts ‘it’s settled law’ that The Hague can order arrest of Israeli leaders, rejects claim that provision of Oslo Accords trumps its authority

Khan called on a panel of ICC pretrial judges to “urgently render its decisions” on the requests he filed in May for warrants for PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three leaders of Hamas, two of whom have since been killed. It remains unclear when judges will rule on Khan’s request for warrants.

Sinwar, Hamas’s top official in Gaza who masterminded the October 7 attack, was subsequently named the terror group’s new leader

Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

Many of the legal arguments filed to ICC judges in recent weeks focussed largely on the issue of whether the court’s power to issue warrants for Israeli leaders is overruled by a provision of the 1993 Oslo Accords peace deal.

As part of the deal, the Palestinians agreed that they don’t have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals.
Khan insisted the argument that the accords could nullify the court’s jurisdiction is “without merit.”