The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled to make public the discussions leading up to the decision on whether to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The court’s pre-trial panel ordered Prosecutor Karim Khan to file a motion to classify his request for arrest warrants as a public document or resubmit the document with requested redactions. This move may reveal the extent of the investigative work done by Khan’s office since the October 7 attack, shedding light on the impact of the war on Israeli and Palestinian populations.

The pre-trial stage allows interested parties to submit arguments on the ICC’s jurisdiction in matters concerning Israel and the Palestinian territories over the next two weeks. Khan has accused Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes including “causing extermination” and “deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

Arrest warrants have also been requested for Sinwar, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif (killed since), and leader Ismail Haniyeh (killed since) on charges including extermination, murder, and hostage-taking.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)