ICC rejects a request to cancel Netanyahu's arrest warrant.

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday rejected Israel's request to cancel arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant while the court considers Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the war on Gaza.

In a decision published on the court's website, the judges also rejected an Israeli request to suspend the ICC's broader investigation into suspected atrocities committed in the Palestinian territories, according to Reuters.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, Galant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in the Gaza Strip.

The court said in February that judges withdrew the arrest warrant against Al-Dhaif after receiving credible reports of his death.

Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies committing war crimes in Gaza, where it launched a military campaign it says aims to eliminate Hamas after the movement's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel is contesting the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Galant.

Israel believes that the Appeals Chamber's April decision ordering the Pre-Trial Chamber to review Israel's objections to the court's jurisdiction means there is no valid judicial basis for the arrest warrants.

The judges rejected the reasoning as invalid, saying Wednesday that Israel's legal appeal against the two arrest warrants remains pending and will remain in effect until the court issues its ruling on this specific issue.

There is no timetable for a ruling on jurisdiction in this case.

In June, the United States imposed sanctions on four female judges at the International Criminal Court, in an unprecedented response to the court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Two of the four judges subject to US sanctions were part of the panel that rejected Israel's request.