The International Criminal Court has decided to postpone issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who are accused of committing war crimes in Gaza, to allow for further legal opinions.
The court stated that this decision followed requests from over 60 countries and organizations to delay the decision in order to present their objections to the arrest warrants. These parties have been given until August 6 to submit their opinions to the Office of the Prosecutor, Karim Khan.
In May, the ICC Prosecutor had requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes of war and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza war and the attacks of October 7.
Prosecutor Khan had stated that the Israeli Prime Minister and his Defense Minister were responsible for crimes against humanity in Gaza, adding that evidence showed Israeli officials systematically deprived Palestinians of life essentials, implicating Netanyahu and Gallant in causing suffering and starvation among civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has arrived in Washington for a visit that includes a speech in Congress on Wednesday, describing his trip as “critical at a time when Israel is fighting on 7 fronts.”
