TEL AVIV — Israel is greatly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior military officials as early as this week, an Israeli official told NBC News.
Israel is working through diplomatic channels to try to stop the warrants being issued, the official said Monday.
When asked about media reports of the arrest warrants, the ICC told NBC News that it “has an ongoing independent investigation in relation to the Situation in the State of Palestine" and that "we have no further comment to make at this stage."
The court launched an investigation three years ago into possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the Israel-Hamas war in 2014. It has given no public indication that arrest warrants are imminent, and it was not clear whether Israel was also expecting arrest warrants for any Hamas leaders.
The news comes as pressure mounts on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza, which officials in the Palestinian enclave say has killed more than 34,000 people since it was launched in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden on Sunday night, and Israel is awaiting a response from Hamas on a new cease-fire proposal.
Karim Khan, who serves as chief prosecutor of the ICC, visited the region in December and said that his investigation was “moving forward at pace, with rigor, with determination and with an insistence that we act not on emotion but on solid evidence.”
Any warrants would not mean that Netanyahu will end up in jail.
Neither Israel nor the United States recognize the court's jurisdiction, though any warrants would put Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries, including much of Europe.
“As we have publicly said many times, the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation,” a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.
They would also serve as a high-profile statement on Israel's actions in Gaza, and an embarrassing development that would put Netanyahu alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin as a major leader to face such action from the ICC.
Netanyahu said Friday that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.”
“The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it,” he said in a post on X.
In a sign of the country's concern, its Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that it had informed Israeli missions of “rumors” that warrants might be issued against senior Israeli officials.
Such a move, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, would “provide a morale boost” to Hamas and other militant groups.
The ICC — based in The Hague, the Netherlands — can charge individuals with war crimes and other related charges. It is separate from the International Court of Justice, which considers cases between states and is currently investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.
Israel and the U.S. have dismissed the accusation.