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ICC urged to investigate Israel’s crimes

November 28, 2022 at 11:54 am

Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor holds a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan on 12 August 2021 [Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency]

Almost two hundred Palestinian and international organisations representing civil society have called on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, to investigate the allegations of war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians, Wafa has reported. The resident of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, Silvia Fernandez de Gourmandi, was included in the memorandum submitted to the court.

The signatories called for public condemnation of Israel’s designation of Palestinian civil society organisations as “terrorist” organisations and urged the government of Israel to reverse it. They also demanded that the crimes committed by the occupation state during its unjustified military attack on the Gaza Strip in August 2022 be included in the ongoing investigation into the situation in Palestine.

Moreover, they stressed the need to speed up the investigation, which should include crimes against humanity such as apartheid and persecution, as well as the need to issue proactive statements to prevent Israeli actions that could contribute to the continuation of such crimes. The groups added that all of the crimes committed in Palestine, including persecuting Palestinian organisations, should be investigated by the ICC according to Article 9 of the Rome Statute.

Appropriate measures should be taken as part of the ICC exercising its authority in accordance with the Statute, insisted the signatories, in order to prevent and deter apartheid practices and to deter Israel from committing more war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestine.

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