ICC Prosecutor Urges Judge to Issue Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu
The Hague, MINA – International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has emphasized that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israeli occupation officials and has urged judges to rapidly issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In court documents published on Friday (August 23), Khan urged judges to issue the arrest warrants requested for Israeli officials and Hamas leaders.
“Any unjustifiable delay in this process negatively impacts the rights of victims,” Khan said in The Hague, Netherlands, according to Middle East Monitor.
Khan asserted that there is “clear reason” to believe that Netanyahu, Gallant, and other Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and political leader Ismail Haniyeh, are criminally responsible for “alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity .”
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have dismissed the war crime allegations, and representatives from both sides have criticized Khan’s decision to seek the warrants.
There is no deadline for the ICC judges to decide on the arrest warrants.
Approximately 1,200 people were killed in Hamas resistance attacks, with around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli reports.
Meanwhile, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Israeli Zionist attacks on Gaza, leading to a severe and widespread humanitarian crisis.
However, Israeli media Haaretz revealed that Israeli helicopters and tanks themselves killed about 1,139 of their own citizens, whom Israel claimed were killed by Palestinian fighters on October 7, 2023. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)