Ex-Israeli defense minister to travel to US despite ICC arrest warrant over Gaza war crimes

By Khaled Yousef

ISTANBUL (AA) - Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant plans to travel to Washington despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Gaza, Israeli media said on Monday.

Israel’s Army Radio said Gallant will hold talks with US security officials during his visit.

No date was given for the planned visit.

On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

According to ICC regulations, it does not conduct trials in absentia, where the defendants must be physically present in order for the case to begin.

As the Hague-based court has no police to enforce its warrants, it depends on its member states to implement its orders.

The White House said Thursday that it rejects the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

The warrants came as Israel’s genocidal offensive in Gaza recently entered its second year, having already killed over 44,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing and deliberate blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, pushing the population to the brink of starvation.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar