Joint Statement by ICC Member States Affirms Court's Jurisdiction over Israeli Officials

Several member states of the International Criminal Court said Saturday that the court has jurisdiction over Israeli officials who commit crimes in the Palestinian territories.

This came in a joint official statement issued by Spain, Ireland, Colombia, Brazil, Palestine, South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti, which was sent to the specialized preliminary examination department to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

The statement stressed that the court has jurisdiction over Israeli officials who commit crimes in the Palestinian territories, in accordance with the Rome Statute.

On May 20,  ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said the court was seeking arrest warrants  for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The arrest warrants against Israeli politicians represent the first time the ICC has targeted the "supreme leader of a close US ally."

After initial reports of Khan's intentions emerged, Netanyahu warned that if the court in The Hague gave the green light to the arrest warrants, it would constitute an "unprecedented anti-Semitic hate crime."

US House Speaker Mike Johnson also said that Congress is considering imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court if an arrest warrant is issued for Netanyahu.

For his part,  US President Joe Biden described the request by the International Criminal Court prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu as outrageous, and  Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the request as disgraceful.

The Jerusalem Post reported in June that the International Criminal Court had postponed its decision on whether to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

123 countries have signed the Rome Statute, which defines the powers of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

These countries are supposed to implement the order and arrest those against whom arrest warrants have been issued, as Netanyahu would be at risk of arrest if his plane were to make an emergency landing in a country that is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

On May 20, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, announced that the court was seeking to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Galant and Hamas leaders on charges of committing war crimes.