Israel has submitted its official challenge to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the legality of the requests for arrest warrants by ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, according to a press statement by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Friday.

According to the statement, Israel submitted two legal briefs to the ICC. Beyond contesting the court’s jurisdiction, Israel contended that the request for arrest warrants violates the Rome Statute of the ICC and the principle of complementarity. Israel claims that it should have been given “the opportunity to exercise its right to investigate by itself the claim raised by the Prosecutor, before proceeding.”

Critics and scholars on the other hand, question the legal justification Israel presents for this challenge. They argue that the objections are procedurally improper, as challenges to jurisdiction should only be submitted after the issuance of arrest warrants under Article 19(2)(b) of the Rome Statute. Some view the submissions as an attempt to evade scrutiny from international law.

The ICC has not yet made any decisions regarding these warrants, which have been under review for several months. This legal strategy employed by Israel has prompted a debate over the legitimacy of its judicial system and the role of the ICC in the realm of international justice.

The ICC is yet to issue a statement on Israel’s assertions. 

In May, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity. The allegations include the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health, or cruel treatment as a war crime, and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity.