Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have the option to voluntarily surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC), or turn themselves in, court's spokesperson Fadi El-Abdallah told JNS on Thursday.
In the interview with the Israeli news agency, the spokesperson highlighted that while Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the court's jurisdiction covers Palestinian territories. "The ICC does not prosecute states, but it persecutes individuals for alleged criminal responsibility...If crimes are committed by anyone on the territory of Palestine, they can be prosecuted," the spokesperson stressed.
El-Abdallah emphasized that arrest warrants for Israeli officials can only be withdrawn by the judges themselves, and only if there is "strong legal argumentation" to support such a decision.
