Israeli President Isaac Herzog told journalists during a press briefing with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv that Israel’s “allies and friends” should reject efforts to “use the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel”, Al Jazeera reports.

Herzog described the ICC’s reported investigation into Israeli leaders as a “clear and present danger to all democracies and to free and peace-loving nations”.

Several senior Israeli officials have expressed concern in recent days that the ICC is investigating the country’s operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank – amid reports the court could issue warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders.