ICC chief prosecutor says Israel has made ‘no real effort’ to investigate Gaza crimes | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Karim Khan’s defense of Gaza war crimes charges against Netanyahu comes amid delays over ceasefire ratification.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has defended the organization’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister and former defense chief, adding that the country has failed to investigate war crimes allegations on its own.
Karim Khan, speaking in an interview with Reuters news agency on Thursday, said the ICC had not seen “any real effort” by Israel to take “actions that would be consistent with established jurisprudence”, adding that he hoped the situation would change.
ICC judges issued warrants last November for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Israeli investigation could have led to the case being returned to Israeli courts under so-called complementary principles. Khan said Israel can still demonstrate its willingness to investigate, even after the warrant is issued.
This seems unlikely since Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based ICC, denying war crimes despite an apparent failure to investigate the claims.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, is also not a member of the ICC. Last week, the US Congress voted in favor sanction court in protest against the order, a move described by Khan as “unwanted and undesirable”.
Khan said Israel has very good legal expertise, but has not used its judges, prosecutors and legal instruments “to properly investigate the allegations we have seen in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
‘Manipulation and procrastination’
Khan’s comments came a day after Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza after more than 460 days of war.
Under pressure from hardliners in his government, which says the war has failed to achieve its goal of wiping out Hamas, Netanyahu postponed key security and cabinet meetings, which were due to vote on the deal on Thursday.
On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said approval was imminent and the security cabinet voted on the ceasefire deal that day, clearing the way for cabinet ministers to give their final approval at a full cabinet meeting.
However, a report in The Times of Israel said the second meeting would not take place until Saturday night, and full ratification would follow a mandatory 24-hour grace period for objections, raising the possibility that the ceasefire will not take effect on Sunday as originally planned. planned.
Mustafa Barghoutisecretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu had run out of options to prevent the ceasefire from being implemented.
“He manipulated and tried to delay and drag it out because his main goal is to keep the government together. But now it is very clear that he cannot maneuver anymore,” he said.
