Israel mistakenly condemns unannounced ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

Israel's Foreign Ministry accidentally released a statement condemning the International Criminal Court (ICC) over arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, despite no such decision being made yet.

The English-language statement was briefly posted on the ministry's website and later removed after circulating on social media.

Israel is known to spy on the ICC and often gains advanced knowledge of pending decisions. This surveillance, part of its broader intelligence strategy, allows Israel to prepare responses and take preemptive actions regarding international legal rulings that may affect its leaders or military personnel.

The country's sophisticated intelligence apparatus, which includes both cyber and human intelligence, has been used to track developments within key international organisations like the ICC.

For the past four months, the ICC has been considering Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan's request to issue international arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant but no verdict has been reached.

A Foreign Ministry official told Haaretz that this was a human error.

The ministry had prepared the condemnation statement in anticipation of the possible warrants, although it is still unclear if or when the court will announce its decision.