The International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber has ordered a reassessment of the court’s jurisdiction in the controversial case involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The move comes in response to an appeal by Israel, which has argued that The Hague has no legal authority to prosecute its leaders for actions taken during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The ruling, published on April 24, mandates that the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber reexamine Israel’s claim that the court lacks jurisdiction over its citizens. Although the order does not overturn the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, it does constitute a rare legal victory for Israel in its broader campaign to discredit and challenge the legitimacy of the ICC’s actions.

The ICC first issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024, accusing them of committing grave breaches of international law during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Among the charges are the alleged use of starvation as a method of warfare, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and indiscriminate bombardments.

These warrants were met with immediate condemnation by the Israeli government and its allies. Netanyahu dismissed the move as a “grotesque distortion of justice,” while other Israeli officials decried the court as a political body manipulated by hostile actors. The warrants were issued in response to the Israeli military campaign that followed a deadly attack by Hamas in 2023, in which hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed and others taken hostage.

Critics of the ICC’s........

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