Karim Khan mentioned the court docket has the authority to problem arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas officers over the Gaza warfare.
The chief prosecutor of the Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) has referred to as on judges to rule “urgently” on his request for arrest warrants in opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others linked to the Gaza warfare.
Prosecutor Karim Khan mentioned “any unreasonable delay within the proceedings will adversely have an effect on the rights of the victims”.
Khan had sought arrest warrants in Might from Israeli officers, together with Protection Minister Yov Galante, and three Hamas leaders over the October 7 Hamas-led assault in southern Israel and The crimes dedicated by Israel in its subsequent warfare on Gaza.
In court docket paperwork unsealed on Friday, Khan confused that the ICC has jurisdiction over Israeli nationals who dedicated atrocities within the occupied Palestinian territories and requested judges to reject authorized challenges from a number of governments and different events.
He rejected Israeli claims that it was investigating alleged warfare crimes.
The ICC prosecutor mentioned there have been affordable grounds to consider that Netanyahu and Galante, in addition to Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, navy chief Mohammed al-Masri and Hamas political chief Ismail Meir Haniyeh is criminally liable for alleged warfare crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in July. The court docket has since declined to touch upon studies of his loss of life. Sinwar, a senior Hamas official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 assault, was named the group’s new chief.
Israel mentioned it killed Masri, often known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in southern Gaza in July, however Hamas has not confirmed that.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have denied accusations of warfare crimes, and representatives from each side criticized Khan’s choice to hunt an arrest warrant.
Netanyahu referred to as the prosecutor’s prices in opposition to him a “shame” and an assault on the Israeli navy and Israel as an entire.
Hamas additionally condemned Khan’s actions, saying requires the arrest of its chief equated “victims with executioners”.
Israel just isn’t a member of the court docket, so Netanyahu and Galante don’t face any fast threat of prosecution even when an arrest warrant is issued. However the specter of arrest may make it troublesome for Israeli leaders to journey overseas.
It is unclear when a decide will rule on Khan’s search warrant request.
Gaza’s well being ministry mentioned at the least 40,265 folks have been killed and 93,144 injured in Israel’s warfare in opposition to the Gaza enclave. On October 7, a Hamas-led assault killed 1,139 folks in Israel and captured greater than 200 folks.
