ICC Prepares New Round of Arrest Warrant Applications for Israeli Suspects Accused of War Crimes in Occupied Palestinian Territories

The Hague (Quds News Network)- Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have restrained Prosecutor Karim Khan from publicly disclosing any new arrest warrant applications related to the court’s Palestine case, as he prepares a new round of applications targeting Israeli suspects accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In an order issued behind closed doors this month, the Guardian has learned that ICC judges are understood to have told Khan that he can no longer make public announcements referring to the existence of his applications for arrest warrants or his intention to seek them.

The new order comes as Khan is preparing a fresh round of applications for Israeli suspects in connection to war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Khan has already secured arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024.

The court said it had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October until at least 20 May, 2024” and which related to the use of starvation and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities.

The recent order imposing constraints on Khan comes amid tensions between the prosecutor and ICC judges over his handling of the Palestine investigation and several other cases in which he publicly announced his decision to seek warrants, a move that departed from his predecessor’s more discreet approach, the Guardian reported.

In their secret order in the Palestine case, the judges have blocked publicity that even alludes to the filing of applications for arrest warrants, and ordered Khan to refrain from disclosing any forthcoming requests unless he receives their permission.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor said they “cannot confirm or deny the existence or content of any judicial decision which has not been made public by the court”.

Khan’s predecessor Fatou Bensouda revealed the existence of an arrest warrant only after it was approved by judges. The court’s first chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, publicly announced his intention to file applications on three occasions during his nine-year term.