ICC chief prosecutor calls on judges to reject Israeli objections over arrest warrants

The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan has called on judges to reject Israeli objections to arrest warrants issued to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes committed in Gaza.

Khan submitted his formal response to an appeal by Israel over the Hague-based court's jurisdiction after judges issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

In a December filing, Israel said it could investigate the allegations independently, and argued that the move was a violation of state sovereignty.

In his response to the filing, Khan said that the court does have jursidiction as the Rome Statute stipulates that the ICC can prosecute crimes that take place in the territory of the member states. While Israel is not a signatory of the statute, Palestine is.