The three judges who made the decision hail from Benin, France, and Slovenia, but were elected by all 124 member states of the ICC and went through a rigorous vetting process. Their months-long deliberations included engaging with the Israeli government and assessing its claim that its own courts could handle the matter.

Outgoing European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on all EU member states on Thursday to respect decisions by the International Criminal Court, including the arrest warrant against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.