International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has provided a formal response to Israel's appeal regarding the jurisdiction of the Hague court, after the ICJ last year issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as military commander. Chief prosecutor urges judges to reject Israeli objections to probe into 13-month Gaza war.
AR writes about this. The publication recalled that Netanyahu called the warrant for his arrest “a rainy day.”? in the history of nations"
However, a person cannot directly appeal an arrest warrant, but the State of Israel can object to the entire investigation.
In a statement last December, Israel asserted that it could independently examine the charges against its leaders and considered the ISS's continued investigation of Israelis to be a violation of state sovereignty..
However, Karim Khan, in his 55-page document, emphasized that the Rome Statute, on the basis of which the court functions, allows crimes committed on the territory of member countries to be tried, regardless of where the criminals come from.
The decision of the ISS judges is expected in the coming months.
Recall that the ISS was created in 2002 as a permanent court of last resort to prosecute those responsible for the world's heinous crimes - war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
Among the 125 member countries of the court are Palestine, Ukraine, Canada and all countries of the European Union. However, dozens of countries do not recognize the court's jurisdiction, including Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
Polish President Andrzej Duda asked Donald Tusk's government not to arrest Netanyahu during his visit to Poland on the anniversary of the dismissal of Auschwitz.. The Office of the Polish Prime Minister adopted a resolution that will “ensure Netanyahu’s free and safe participation” in these celebrations.
However, the ISS stated that participating states cannot unilaterally determine the validity of the legal decisions of the ISS.
Some countries have already confirmed their readiness to comply with the ISS order if Netanyahu appears on their territory. In particular, such? Great Britain and Canada have shown their readiness.
At the same time, the United States, which has not joined the Rome Charter, “rejects in principle” the ISS orders. Washington believes that the International Criminal Court “has no jurisdiction in this matter” and is discussing further steps with Israel and partners.
The current US President Joe Biden unexpectedly called these orders outrageous. He said that the Israeli leadership and Hamas cannot be equated, as the ISS did..