UPDATE - ICC prosecutor says arrest warrants must be issued with ‘utmost urgency’ for Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant, plus Sinwar

UPDATES DECK, ADDS STATEMENT BY ISREALI PREMIER'S OFFICE, BACKGROUND

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has urged the court's Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants “with utmost urgency” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.

The arrest warrants are “necessary to ensure that they do not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, prevent the continuing commission of the crimes alleged and/or the commission of other Rome Statute crimes,” Karim Khan wrote on Monday.

In May, Khan announced that the court was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of committing war crimes.

He had also requested warrants for three Hamas leaders: Sinwar, Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July while visiting Iran.

In his new submission, Khan withdrew the application for a warrant seeking the late Haniyeh.

However, he did not withdraw his request for an arrest warrant for Deif, a Hamas leader Israel claimed to have killed in July.

Khan said the prosecution is still collecting information on Deif’s “reported death” and will withdraw its application “if sufficient and reliable information confirms his death.”

- 'Pure anti-Semitism'

The Israeli prime minister's office in a statement on Tuesday said the comparison between Hamas and Israeli leaders was "pure antisemitism" and a "moral disgrace of the highest order."

“Unfortunately, we have seen from the beginning that the proceedings in The Hague are politically biased and have no professional legal basis whatsoever,” the statement added.

Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, which was established in 2002. In 2015, Palestine was accepted as a member of the court.

Hamas has not yet responded to Khan's request to expedite the issuance of arrest warrants for Sinwar and Deif.

Israel has continued its onslaught on Gaza since last October, killing more than 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and leaving most of the enclave's population hungry, homeless and prone to disease.

Israel also faces accusations of genocide for its actions in the enclave at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio