ICC prosecutor urges judges to urgently rule on warrants for Israeli, Hamas officials

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court stressed the court had jurisdiction to investigate Israeli nationals and asked judges to urgently decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant.

In court filings made public Friday, prosecutor Karim Khan urged judges weighing the arrest warrants sought against Israeli officials and Hamas leaders to not delay.

"Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally

affects the rights of victims," he said.

Khan stressed that the court had jurisdiction over Israeli nationals who commit atrocity crimes in the Palestinian territories and asked the judges to dismiss legal challenges filed by several dozen governments and other parties.

"It is settled law that the court has jurisdiction in this situation," the filing said, dismissing legal arguments based on provisions in the Oslo accords and assertions by Israel that it is carrying out its own investigations into alleged war crimes.

ICC prosecutors say there are reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and another Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran late July. The court has since declined to comment on reports of his death. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in another airstrike but Hamas would neither confirm or deny that news.

About 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli counts. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in an Israeli assault on Gaza that has caused a deadly and widespread humanitarian crisis.

Israel and Palestinian leaders have dismissed allegations of war crimes, and representatives for both sides have criticised Khan's decision to seek warrants.

There is no deadline for judges to decide on warrants.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Aurora Ellis)