The move by the International Criminal Court will complicate travel by Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister, who would risk arrest in the court’s member countries.

The ICC is meant to be a court of last resort that steps in when a country’s own courts fail to prosecute abuses. Israel’s attorney-general told Mr Netanyahu this year that forming a state commission of inquiry might stall the ICC ’s probe. But he has yet to appoint one, and the judges noted Israel’s failure to do so in their decision.