3 Palestinian rights groups submit lawsuit at ICC against Israel for 'genocide' in Gaza

A lawsuit has been submitted with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by three Palestinian rights organisations, calling on the institution to probe Israel for allegations of “apartheid” and “genocide” while seeking the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

Filed by Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the lawsuit emphasises the need for immediate “attention to the continuous barrage of Israeli air strikes on densely populated civilian areas within the Gaza Strip.”

According to Gaza health officials, these air strikes have resulted in the death of over 10,500 Palestinians, with nearly half of them being children.

The legal document also urged the ICC to broaden its ongoing investigation into war crimes by examining issues such as “the suffocating siege imposed on [Gaza], the forced displacement of its population, the use of toxic gas, and the deprivation of essential necessities like food, water, fuel, and electricity.”

These actions, as asserted in the lawsuit, constitute “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” encompassing allegations of “genocide.” Moreover, the three organisations are calling for the issuance of arrest warrants targeting Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Since 2021, the ICC has been investigating Israel’s violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly looking into the occupation’s possible war crimes and crimes against humanity from 2014 onwards.

In the recent submission to the ICC, the attorney representing the rights groups, Emmanuel Daoud, made reference to the ICC’s ruling against Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, noting that “there is no room for double standards” and “whether war crimes are committed in Ukraine or Palestine, the perpetrators should be held accountable.”

READ: Algeria calls on ICC to hold Israel accountable for its crimes in Gaza

The lawsuit comes after Reporters Without Borders filed a complaint on 31 October accusing Israel of committing war crimes against journalists in Gaza.

According to figures from the press freedom organisation Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), as of yesterday, Israeli attacks have resulted in the death of at least 39 journalists since 7 October.

It also comes after the ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan warned Israel, after visiting the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, that obstructing relief supplies to the Gaza Strip may constitute a crime under ICC jurisdiction.

“There should not be any impediment to humanitarian relief supplies going to children, to women and men, civilians,” Khan said.

“They are innocent, they have rights under international humanitarian law. These rights are part of the Geneva Conventions, and they give rise to even criminal responsibility when these rights are curtailed under the Rome Statute.”

Tel Aviv is not a member of the ICC and rejects the court’s jurisdiction; it has previously refused to formally engage with its investigations.

Israeli air strikes lead to massacre by Al-Shifa Hospital – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]