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Israel making ‘no effort’ to investigate Gaza war crimes allegations: ICC

Friday, 17 January 2025 3:39 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 17 January 2025 4:30 PM ]

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, January 16, 2025. (File by Reuters)

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan says Israel has not properly investigated war crimes allegations brought against the regime over its barbarism in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The chief ICC prosecutor in remarks on Friday defended his decision to issue the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan emphasized that Israel had made "no real effort" to investigate into the 15-month-long campaign of death and destruction in the besieged Palestinian territory itself.

“We’re here as a court of last resort and … as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence,” he added.

“The question is have those judges [in Israel], have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinize the allegations that we’ve seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was ‘no’,” Khan said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khan also strongly criticized the US House of Representatives’ vote last week to sanction the ICC for issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

The chief prosecutor says it “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned”.

US House passes bill to sanction ICC over Netanyahu's arrest warrant request

The US House of Representatives passes legislation to impose sanctions on the ICC for seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu.

The US earlier this month approved a bill to sanction the ICC officials in response to the arrest warrants that the tribunal has issued against Israeli authorities for war crimes in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

The chief prosecutor recently submitted his formal response this week to Israel’s appeal challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

Khan noted that the ICC court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes facing the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Last year, the ICC, based in The Hague, issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Israeli authorities are also accused of using hunger as a weapon in Gaza.

ICC judges are expected to deliver a decision on the matter in the coming months.

In January 2024, the international court of justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Gaza. However, the regime has ignored the court's verdict.

In December 2023, South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel, accusing it of breaching the Genocide Convention in its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.

Cuba has now become the 14th country to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ.

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