ICC allows UK to submit arguments on jurisdiction over Israelis in Gaza case
The judges said the court would also accept submissions from other interested parties on the legal issue, but set a July 12 deadline for filings.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled on Thursday that the United Kingdom can submit legal arguments to judges mulling the prosecution's request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Court documents made public on Thursday showed that the UK, an ICC member state, filed a request with the court earlier this month to provide written observations on whether "the court can exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords".
More To Read
- ICC Chief Khan steps aside amid UN sex misconduct probe, plunging court into uncharted crisis
- Somaliland at crossroads: Could US geostrategic interests break recognition deadlock?
- Convicted war criminal Lubanga announces new rebel group in east Congo
- Kenyan youth ranked among world's most mentally strong, better than many in Western nations
- Trump suggests US will take over Gaza, make it the 'Riviera of the Middle East'
- Abductions: State accused of silencing witnesses, families want ICC to intervene
The judges said the court would also accept submissions from other interested parties on the legal issue, but set a July 12 deadline for filings.
Granting the UK's request might delay the judges' pending decision on arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over Israel's war in Gaza, as ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had requested in May.
The ICC has had an ongoing investigation into any alleged crimes within its jurisdiction committed on Palestinian territory and by Palestinians on the territory of Israel since 2021.
In that year, ICC judges ruled that the court has jurisdiction after the Palestinian authorities signed up to the court in 2015, after being granted United Nations observer state status.
The decision, however, left a ruling on the interpretation of the 1993 Oslo Accords regarding Palestinian jurisdiction over Israeli nationals for a later stage in the proceedings.
The UK's argument is that the Palestinian authorities cannot have jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the Oslo Accords, and so it cannot transfer that jurisdiction over to the ICC to prosecute Israelis.
Top Stories Today
