Israel is pushing to delay the International Criminal Court's issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of crimes against humanity in Gaza, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The newspaper said on Wednesday: "Israeli officials are trying to assess how long the International Criminal Court intends to discuss issuing possible arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant."

It quoted unnamed Israeli official sources familiar with the details of the procedure and legal experts following the matter, saying that "diplomatic pressure is being exerted on the court to delay issuing arrest warrants."

She added: "However, it is difficult to predict how these measures will affect the judges' decision."

In May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he had asked the court to approve arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant on charges of war crimes and genocide, but the court has not yet issued its decision.

The newspaper pointed out that before the court issues its decision on Karim Khan's request, "the court's judges will review the legal opinions submitted by several countries and international organizations regarding the requested arrest warrants."

"However, Israeli officials do not know how long this review process will take," she said.

“One of the main issues raised in these legal opinions is the question of the court’s jurisdiction over matters relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the issuance of arrest warrants,” she added.

"Norway and Ireland have submitted legal opinions recognizing the court's authority to do so, which has caused significant turmoil in Israel and contributed to last week's decision by Foreign Minister Israel Katz to revoke the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats in the Palestinian territories," she continued.

She added: "However, Germany submitted a legal opinion to the International Criminal Court supporting Israel's position, which questions the jurisdiction of the court."

She noted that Britain had backed down from its intention to provide an opinion on the court's jurisdiction, leaving the issue of its jurisdiction to the judges' discretion.

"Israeli officials were disappointed and angry with the decision," she added.

She stated that "the Israeli Bar Association opposed issuing arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Galant."

Regarding the period of time it takes for the court to issue its decision, the newspaper added: “The court has discretionary power to determine the duration of the review process, and there is no legal precedent that can clarify how long it will take.”

"We hope they will spend several weeks on this issue, but legally, they could also decide after a few days that they have reviewed everything and are ready to make a decision," an unnamed Israeli official involved in diplomatic efforts on the issue was quoted as saying.

The International Criminal Court hears cases against individuals, not states.