Rules arrest warrants for Israeli PM remains in place
\n THE HAGUE
\nAppeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court\u2019s probe into its conduct of the Gaza war. On appeal, judges refused to overturn a lower court decision that the prosecution\u2019s investigation into alleged crimes under its jurisdiction could include events following the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
\nThe ruling means the investigation continues and the arrest warrants issued last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant remain in place.
\nIsrael\u2019s Foreign Ministry called the ruling an example of the ICC\u2019s disregard for the sovereign rights of countries who are not members of the court, in a post on social media platform X.
\nIsrael rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, where it has waged a military campaign it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas following the October 7 attacks.
\nThe ICC had initially also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, but withdrew that later following credible reports of his death.
\nA ceasefire agreement in the conflict took effect on October 10, but the war destroyed much of Gaza\u2019s infrastructure, and living conditions are dire. According to Gaza health officials, whose data is frequently cited with confidence by the United Nations, some 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza.
\nThis ruling focuses on only one of several Israeli legal challenges against the ICC investigations and the arrest warrants for its officials. There is no timeline for the court to rule on the various other challenges to its jurisdiction in this case.
\nMeanwhiel, The Israeli army is to demolish 25 residential buildings in the north West Bank\u2019s Nur Shams refugee camp later this week, local authorities told AFP on Monday.
\nAbdallah Kamil, governor of the Tulkarem governorate where Nur Shams is located, told AFP he was informed of the planned demolition by the Israeli defence ministry body
\nCOGAT, which is in charge of coordinating civilian affairs in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, did not respond to AFP\u2019s requests for comment.
\nFaisal Salama, head of the popular committee for Tulkarem camp, which is near Nur Shams, said the demolition order would affect 25 buildings holding up to 100 family homes.
\n\u201cWe were informed by the military and civil coordination that the occupation will carry out the demolition of 25 buildings on December 18, Thursday,\u201d he told AFP.
\nContacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was \u201clooking into it\u201d.
\nIsrael has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
\nIn early 2025, Israel\u2019s military launched a wide-ranging and still ongoing operation it says is aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from refugee camps in the northern West Bank \u2014 including the Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin camps. The operation displaced all the residents and more than 30,000 have yet to return home.
\nDuring the operation, Israel has destroyed hundreds of houses in the dense network of alleys that make up the camps to create easy access for its troops stationed inside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rules arrest warrants for Israeli PM remains in place THE HAGUE Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court\u2019s probe into its conduct of the Gaza war. On appeal, judges refused to overturn a lower court decision that the prosecution\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-520434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n