Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel urged the court to suspend the warrants against him and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pending the outcome of the appeal.Israel has told the International Criminal Court that it will appeal against arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over their actions in the war on Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said, as France said it believes the Israeli officials have “immunity” from the warrants.
Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that Israel also urged the ICC to suspend the warrants against him and Gallant for alleged “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” pending the appeal.
The court said last week there were reasonable grounds to believe the officials were responsible for using “starvation as a method of warfare” in Gaza by restricting supplies of humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
“The State of Israel denies the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office read.
“Israel today submitted a notice to the International Criminal Court of its intention to appeal to the court, along with a demand to delay the execution of the arrest warrants,” it added.
The move has come after France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said it believed the officials benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court.
France’s view, issued a day after the announcement of a ceasefire be …
