Israel deletes statement condemning unissued ICC arrest warrants

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- The Israeli Foreign Ministry published a statement condemning the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, despite the court not having made such a decision. The statement was quickly removed after being briefly posted on the ministry’s website.
The statement, written in English, was briefly published on the ministry’s website and shared on social media before being swiftly removed. The ICC has been deliberating for the past four months on a request by Prosecutor Karim Khan to issue international arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. However, no official decision has been reached yet.
According to Haaretz, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official attributed the incident to “human error” but acknowledged that the ministry is preparing for the possibility that the arrest warrants could be issued soon. The official added that Israel remains unsure whether or when the court will make such an announcement.
Recently, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan renewed his request for the court to urgently rule on the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Khan emphasized that the court has the right to prosecute Israeli citizens for crimes committed in Palestinian territories. In his submission to the court on Friday, Khan urged the judges to issue their decision without further delay, stating that any unjustified delay in these proceedings negatively impacts the rights of the victims.
Khan’s request also argued that the ICC has legal jurisdiction over Israelis who commit atrocities in Palestinian territories, dismissing legal arguments related to the Oslo Accords and Israel’s claims that it is conducting its own investigations into alleged war crimes.