News Desk
THE HAGUE: Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court’s investigation into its conduct during the war in Gaza.
On appeal, judges declined to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed the prosecutor’s investigation into alleged crimes under the court’s jurisdiction to include events following the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The decision meant the investigation would continue and that arrest warrants issued last year for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant would remain in place.
Israel’s foreign ministry described the ruling as evidence of the ICC’s disregard for the sovereign rights of states that are not members of the court, in a statement posted on social media platform X.
Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and has denied committing war crimes in Gaza, where it launched a military campaign it says was aimed at eliminating Hamas following the 7 October attacks.
