Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in backing the bill. No Republican voted against it.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel,” Representative Brian Mast, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a House speech before the vote.
לי מרדכי, היסטוריון ואזרח ישראלי
.202412.5(גרסה5.5.6
Last updated:1 November 29, 2024
I, Lee Mordechai, a historian by profession and an Israeli citizen, bear witness in this document to the situation in Gaza as events are unfolding. The enormous amount of evidence I have seen, much of it referenced later in this document, has been enough for me to believe that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza. I explain why I chose to use the term below. Israel’s campaign is ostensibly its reaction to the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, in which war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed within the context of the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that can be dated back to 1917 or 1948 (or other dates). In all cases, historical grievances and atrocities do not justify additional atrocities in the present. Therefore, I consider Israel’s response to Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 utterly disproportionate and criminal.
(…)
Cases in which the IDF kills civilians almost never make the news in Israel and the United States. An exception happened in early April, when the IDF killed 7 workers of the international NGO World Central Kitchen (all foreign citizens) within their clearly marked vehicles operating in full coordination with the IDF. A source from the IDF stated that a drone attacked the convoy of three vehicles because a Hamas person was thought to be in it (later investigation stated this was uncertain and the person simply appeared armed). After the first vehicle was bombed, some NGO workers left their vehicle and evacuated to a second vehicle, immediately notifying the IDF. Despite this, the second vehicle was bombed as well, and the survivors evacuated it to a third vehicle that was also bombed, killing them all.
Selbst wenn Gaza jetzt in deutschen Medien so gut wie keine Rolle mehr spielt … Der israelische Historiker Lee Mordechai hat die Abgründe dieser Hölle in einer ausführlichen Dokumentation bis inkl. Ende 2024 zusammengestellt. Dieses Grauen ist nicht zu ertragen. Aber es ist notwendig, dies zu dokumentieren. Siehe hier. Zu Ihrer Information unter Teil A. die Zusammenfassung des Textes, übersetzt von Susanne Hofmann, und unter Teil B. eine Dokumentation von Haaretz.
(…)
“Ich garantiere nicht, dass jede einzelne Zeugenaussage absolut zuverlässig ist. In der Tat weiß niemand genau, was in Gaza passiert – nicht die internationalen Medien, sicherlich nicht die Israelis und nicht einmal die IDF. In ‘Bearing Witness’ behaupte ich, dass das Verstummen der Stimmen aus dem Gazastreifen – die Einschränkung der Informationen, die von dort kommen – Teil der Arbeitsmethode ist, die den Krieg möglich macht. Ich stehe hinter der Synthese, die ich verwende, und ich wünschte, ich läge falsch. Aber von israelischer Seite gibt es nichts. Ich spreche von Beweisen – bringt mir Beweise!”
Ein Fall, der in dem Dokument beschrieben wird, auch wenn es vielen Israelis schwer fallen wird, dies zu glauben, bezieht sich auf den Einsatz einer Drohne durch die IDF, die Geräusche eines weinenden Säuglings abgab, um festzustellen, wo sich Zivilisten aufhielten und sie vielleicht aus ihrem Schutzraum herauszulocken. In dem Video, auf das Mordechai verweist, ist ein Weinen zu hören und die Lichter einer Drohne zu sehen.
“Wir wissen, dass es Drohnen mit Lautsprechern gibt, vielleicht macht sich ein gelangweilter Soldat einen Spaß daraus und die Palästinenser empfinden es als schrecklich”, sagt er. “Aber ist es wirklich so weit hergeholt, dass ein Soldat, anstatt sich mit Höschen und BHs filmen zu lassen oder die Sprengung einer Straße seiner Frau zu widmen, so etwas tut? Es mag erfunden sein, aber es passt zu dem, was ich sehe.” Diese Woche strahlte Al Jazeera einen investigativen Bericht über die so genannten weinenden Drohnen aus und behauptete, ihr Einsatz sei von einer Reihe von Augenzeugen bestätigt worden, die alle die gleiche Geschichte erzählten.
“Wir können immer noch über solche anekdotischen Berichte streiten, aber es ist schwieriger, dies zu tun, wenn wir mit Bergen von fundierteren Berichten konfrontiert werden”, bemerkt Mordechai. “Dutzende amerikanischer Ärzte, die als Freiwillige in Gaza arbeiteten, berichteten zum Beispiel, dass sie fast jeden Tag Kinder sahen, denen in den Kopf geschossen worden war – wie ist das zu erklären? Versuchen wir überhaupt, das zu erklären oder zu verkraften?”
(December 19, 2024)
„What our medical teams have witnessed on the ground throughout this conflict is consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organizations concluding that genocide is taking place in Gaza,” Lockyear said. (…)
MSF calls on states, particularly Israel’s closest allies, to end their unconditional support for Israel and fulfill their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza. Nearly a year ago, on January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Israel has taken no meaningful action to comply with the court order. Instead, Israeli authorities continue to actively block MSF and other humanitarian organizations from providing lifesaving assistance to people trapped under siege and bombardment.
(December 19, 2024)
To All States
– Take all measures within their power to prevent genocide by Israeli authorities in Gaza by pressuring Israel to lift the blockade and comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, including by discontinuing any military assistance and arms sales or transfers, imposing targeted sanctions, and reviewing bilateral deals and diplomatic relations.
– Publicly condemn war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and the genocide convention committed by the Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those violations and crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies, investigative mechanisms, and UN special procedures.
– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, and ensure the entry and safe distribution at scale throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services.
– Demand that Israel implement UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on Israel and Palestine, including all provisions relating to humanitarian aid delivery to the residents of Gaza and compliance with international humanitarian law.
– Review and possibly suspend bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, whose review has been proposed by the Spanish and Irish governments.
– End all forms of support for and complicity in the atrocities being carried out by Israel, including suspending military assistance and arms transfers to the Israeli government so long as its forces commit serious rights abuses and war crimes against Palestinian civilians with impunity.
– Publicly support the ICJ’s work and its decisions as an independent judicial institution and press Israel to comply with the ICJ’s binding orders.
– Publicly support the work of the International Criminal Court across all situations under its jurisdiction, including the ongoing Palestine investigation, and render any assistance necessary to give effect to orders of the Court. Uphold the court’s independence and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.
– Support foreign domestic investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, as relevant and appropriate, of those credibly implicated in serious crimes in Gaza.
– The United States should immediately reverse its decisions to suspend funding to UNRWA and state clearly the intention to continue to fund the agency, and all states should urge Israeli authorities to reverse Israel‘s decisions to bar UNRWA from operating within Israel.
– Fund repairs of damaged and destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, and press Israel to urgently allow the infrastructure to be repaired.
– Support the creation of an international mechanism to address reparation for Palestinians and an international register of damages.
– Call on Israeli authorities to allow water filtration systems, water tanks, and other materials needed to repair water infrastructure and to improve the water supply into Gaza.
– Support the United Nations to establish a plan that would ensure Palestinians have access to water at least equal to what Israel grants Israeli citizens, and pressure Israel to facilitate and contribute to the plan.
– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law.
To the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
– Request access to Gaza in order to monitor and report publicly on the human rights situation regarding access to water and sanitation, including damage and destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure; obstruction of repairs and targeting of repair workers; restrictions on the entry of fuel; and the human rights impacts stemming from these actions.
To the International Criminal Court Prosecutor
– Investigate Israeli authorities’ actions and policies that have deprived the civilian population of Gaza of water, including as war crimes, as the crime against humanity of extermination, and as genocide.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) agree that Israel is striving for extermination. It has not hidden its intent, and that intent is confirmed by its actions on the ground.
MSF calls on states, particularly Israel’s closest allies, to end their unconditional support for Israel and fulfill their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza. Nearly a year ago, on January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Israel has taken no meaningful action to comply with the court order. Instead, Israeli authorities continue to actively block MSF and other humanitarian organizations from providing lifesaving assistance to people trapped under siege and bombardment.
Israeli army officers have revealed that an area along the Netzarim corridor in the Gaza Strip was a designated “kill zone” where “anyone who enters is shot,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
A commander in Division 252 said that “forces in the field call it ‘the line of dead bodies,” because “after shootings, bodies are not collected, attracting packs of dogs who come to eat them.”
“In Gaza, people know that wherever you see these dogs, that’s where you must not go,” the commander is quoted as saying.
We believe continuing to transfer offensive weapons to the Israeli government prolongs the suffering of the Palestinian people and risks our own national security by sending a message to the world that the U.S. will apply its laws, policies, and international law selectively. Furthermore, a failure to act will put Israeli lives in danger by prolonging Netanyahu’s war, isolating Israel on the international stage, and creating further instability in the region.
A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding the administration follow through with threats to cut weapons transfers to Israel if Tel Aviv did not allow more aid into the Gaza Strip. Since early October, Northern Gaza has been under a total siege and deprived of nearly all aid deliveries.
To All States
– Take all measures within their power to prevent genocide by Israeli authorities in Gaza by pressuring Israel to lift the blockade and comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, including by discontinuing any military assistance and arms sales or transfers, imposing targeted sanctions, and reviewing bilateral deals and diplomatic relations.
– Publicly condemn war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and the genocide convention committed by the Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those violations and crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies, investigative mechanisms, and UN special procedures.
– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, and ensure the entry and safe distribution at scale throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services.
– Demand that Israel implement UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on Israel and Palestine, including all provisions relating to humanitarian aid delivery to the residents of Gaza and compliance with international humanitarian law.
– Review and possibly suspend bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, whose review has been proposed by the Spanish and Irish governments.
– End all forms of support for and complicity in the atrocities being carried out by Israel, including suspending military assistance and arms transfers to the Israeli government so long as its forces commit serious rights abuses and war crimes against Palestinian civilians with impunity.
– Publicly support the ICJ’s work and its decisions as an independent judicial institution and press Israel to comply with the ICJ’s binding orders.
– Publicly support the work of the International Criminal Court across all situations under its jurisdiction, including the ongoing Palestine investigation, and render any assistance necessary to give effect to orders of the Court. Uphold the court’s independence and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.
– Support foreign domestic investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, as relevant and appropriate, of those credibly implicated in serious crimes in Gaza.
– The United States should immediately reverse its decisions to suspend funding to UNRWA and state clearly the intention to continue to fund the agency, and all states should urge Israeli authorities to reverse Israel‘s decisions to bar UNRWA from operating within Israel.
– Fund repairs of damaged and destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, and press Israel to urgently allow the infrastructure to be repaired.
– Support the creation of an international mechanism to address reparation for Palestinians and an international register of damages.
– Call on Israeli authorities to allow water filtration systems, water tanks, and other materials needed to repair water infrastructure and to improve the water supply into Gaza.
– Support the United Nations to establish a plan that would ensure Palestinians have access to water at least equal to what Israel grants Israeli citizens, and pressure Israel to facilitate and contribute to the plan.
– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law.
To the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
– Request access to Gaza in order to monitor and report publicly on the human rights situation regarding access to water and sanitation, including damage and destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure; obstruction of repairs and targeting of repair workers; restrictions on the entry of fuel; and the human rights impacts stemming from these actions.
To the International Criminal Court Prosecutor
– Investigate Israeli authorities’ actions and policies that have deprived the civilian population of Gaza of water, including as war crimes, as the crime against humanity of extermination, and as genocide.
תקציר
מאזאוקטובר 2023 ,הרשויות הישראליות מונעות בכוונה תחילה מפלסטינים גישה לכמות ה מים
ההולמתהנדרשת להישרדות ברצועת עזה.
עלפי ארגון הבריאות העולמי ) WHO(,אדם זקוק ל -50–100ליטר יםמים ביום כדי להבטיח ש“צרכיו
הבסיסייםביותר יסופקו“. 1במצבי חירום מתמשכים, כמות המים המינימלית הנדרשת היא 15
ליטריםלאדם ליום לשתייה ולרחצה. 2ולמרות זאת, בין אוקטובר 2023 לספטמבר 2024 ,פעולות
שביצעוהרשויות הישראליות מנעו מרובם של יותר מ שנימיליון הפלסטינים החיים ברצוע תעז הגישה
אפילולכמות מינימלית זו של מים, והדבר תרם להתפשטות מחלות והביא למותם של בני אדם .
3
לרביםברצועה הייתה גישה רק ,או בעיקר ,למים שאינם ראויים לשתייה.
“אםאנחנו לא מצליחים למצוא מים ראויים לשתייה, אנחנו שותים את מי ה ים“,אמר אב שנעקר
לביתספר ברפיח לארגון Watch Rights Human בדצמבר 2023. 4“קרה לי הרבה פעמים שנאלצתי
לשתותמי ים. א יאפשר להבין כמה אנחנו סובלים“.
Israel is guilty of the crime of extermination and acts of genocide in Gaza, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has concluded in a new report published on Thursday.
The US-based human rights organisation found that Israel has inflicted conditions of life in Gaza calculated to destroy the enclave‘s Palestinian population. This amounts to extermination, which is a crime against humanity, and acts of genocide.
Coming two weeks after fellow rights group Amnesty International similarly concluded that Israel is guilty of genocide, the Human Rights Watch report is the latest sign of a growing consensus around Israel‘s actions in Gaza.
Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said supporting the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, should not be viewed as a hostile act.
“Recognising a state of Palestine, which we did with Norway and Spain and which other countries have done, is not a hostile act, and should not be seen as a hostile act,” he said.
The actions of the Israeli army in northern Gaza, where there are daily reports of the killing of men, women and children, is “beyond any moral compass,” Mr Martin said.
In May 2024, Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, formally recognised the Palestinian state. This decision led to Israel recalling its ambassadors from Ireland, Norway and Spain.
In October 2024, the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, announced plans to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban trade between Ireland and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This statement follows an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July that said states are under “an obligation to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel” in the territories.
(November 29, 2024)
I am not alone in opposing his tyranny. The consistent political opposition inside Israel itself, made up of democratic Jews and Arab citizens, finds the notion of democracy in Israel under Netanyahu absurd too. Democracy in Israel never really existed, owing to the state of Israel’s definition as an ethnic concept, antithetical to political egalitarianism.
A state that under its basic laws declares one group politically superior to the other cannot be regarded as a democracy, but as an ethnocracy. Since its formation, Israel has been pursuing discriminatory policies towards its own Palestinian citizens in all spheres of life – housing, employment, welfare and education. Even the supposed Israeli bill of rights, the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, doesn’t dare to mention the right to equality.
– The council condemned Israel‘s aggression in Gaza, and said it reaffirmed its stance demanding an „immediate and permanent cessation of Israeli military operations“ and lifting the blockade on Gaza.
– The council said Israel bears „full responsibility“ for its targeting and assault on civilians in Gaza, and said these attacks were war crimes and crimes against humanity.
– The council welcomed the International Criminal Court‘s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
– The council said Israel‘s ongoing war on Gaza is a part of „a genocide and ethnic cleansing agenda“, and condemned Israel‘s attacks on hospitals and on aid workers in Gaza.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders convened in Kuwait on Sunday, issuing a unified call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza amid „Israel‘s“ ongoing genocidal campaign.
The summit‘s final statement urged a complete halt to military operations, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the establishment of safe corridors for civilians in the beleaguered Palestinian territory.
(November 22, 2024)
More than six months after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor sought arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister, a ruling was finally issued Thursday. In the interim, both Israel and the United States took unprecedented steps to obstruct the court’s decision-making process.
srael Hayom has learned that IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi participated in a Chiefs of Staff conference in Britain over the past two days. This is considered an unusual step, amid the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Halevi departed two days ago and returned last night (Monday-Tuesday). During his two-day visit, against the backdrop of de-escalation efforts in northern Israel, Halevi met with Chiefs of Staff from various countries and provided an overview of the situation in the Middle East.
(November 22, 2024)
All leaders of the Zionist parties slammed the International the ICC’s decision. “Israel is defending itself against terrorist organizations that attacked, murdered and raped our citizens. These arrest warrants are a reward for terrorism,” Zionists opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) declared. The ICC’s decision constitutes “moral blindness and a shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten,” National Unity chief MK Benny Gantz, a former member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, tweets.
Only Hadash (Demorcratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) ICC’s announcement. In a statement, Hadash declares “the ICC in The Hague decided based on clear evidence that the Gaza war is a war full of serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.” “Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the total destruction of Gaza and the mass murder of its residents. They must pay a price for it,” the Front states, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
We should remember that Palestine is a party to the ICC treaty.
Thus, if either Netanyahu or Gallant were to set foot in the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, the governmental authority in Ramallah would be legally obliged to make arrests.
Yet it would test the bravery of the Palestinian Authority far beyond its past behaviour if it dared to arrest an Israeli leader, however strong the evidence against him.
Three days after the war ended, on 21 January 2009, the PA filed a declaration with the ICC seeking to allow the court jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories.
Under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute – the treaty that established the ICC – non-members of the ICC can file a declaration granting the court jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed within their territory after a specified date. Ukraine has adopted this approach to address alleged Russian crimes.
After much deliberation, the ICC rejected Palestine’s declaration on the grounds that Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute only applied to “states”.
However, when Palestine was recognised as a non-member observer state at the UN following a General Assembly vote in late 2012, it opened up the possibility not only of filing a declaration with the ICC but also of attaining full membership.
We have begun the project of collecting, analyzing, and categorizing official statements in response to the ICC’s announcement, which we consolidate below and will continue to update. If we have missed anything, please send us an email at lte@justsecurity.org.
“Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” the POTUS said shortly after the international tribunal issued the arrest warrants against the Israeli leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” he added. Earlier today, the White House released a separate statement over the matter in which they outrightly rejected that court’s ruling.
(November 21, 2024)
The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.
(November 22, 2024)
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The announcement came as health officials in the Gaza Strip said the death toll from the 13-month-old war between Israel and Hamas has surpassed 44,000.
Q. [Inaudible… on the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant] How do you look at this in Jordan? The same question also is addressed to Mister Borrell, how do you view this International Criminal Court (ICC) resolution? Do you believe that the European Union and the international community can implement this decision or resolution or not?
Thank you. As I said before, the tragedy in Gaza has to stop. Now, I will be very sober in my comment. It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a Court, of a Court of Justice, of the International Criminal Court. The decisions of the courts have to be respected and implemented. So, I take note of the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, the former Minister of Defence Mister [Yoav] Gallant, and the Hamas’ leaders. This decision is a binding decision and all States, all States parties of the [Rome Statute of] Court, which include all members of the European Union, are bound to implement this court decision.
EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell reacted during a press conference on Thursday to the news about the issuance of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country‘s former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
He said the warrants issued by the Court are not political and the court‘s decision should be respected and implemented, Euronews reported.
The UK‘s International Criminal Court Act, signed in 2001, enforces compliance with the court
Sir Keir Starmer has backed the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
When asked about the issue, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said the Government respected the independence of the court.
He declined to say whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived in the UK.
Here is the full list of all the state signatories to the ICC, who are obliged to act on the warrants:
A
Afghanistan
Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Mongolia
Montenegro
Namibia
Nauru
Netherlands
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
State of Palestine
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
T
Tanzania
Tajikistan
Timor-Leste
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
U
Uganda
United Kingdom
Uruguay
V
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Z
Zambia
Today, our collective mind and focus should be on the victims of international crimes in Israel and in the State of Palestine. In my own meetings with the victims and families of hostages taken from kibbutzim, and with victims from Gaza who have lost so many loved ones, I have underlined that the law is there for all, that its role is to vindicate the rights of all persons.
Today, on 21 November 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (‘Court’), in its composition for the Situation in the State of Palestine, unanimously issued two decisions rejecting challenges by the State of Israel (‘Israel’) brought under articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute (the ‘Statute’). It also issued warrants of arrest for Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant.
Today, on 21 November 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (‘Court’), in its composition for the Situation in the State of Palestine, unanimously issued a warrant of arrest for Mr Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, commonly known as ‘Deif’, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023.
The Prosecution had initially filed applications for warrants of arrest for two other senior leaders of Hamas, namely Mr Ismail Haniyeh and Mr Yahya Sinwar. Following confirmation of their deaths, the Chamber granted the withdrawal of the applications on 9 August 2024 and 25 October 2024, respectively. With respect to Mr Deif, the Prosecution indicated that it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported death.
„There should be more in the dock, in my view. And it‘s taking ages. This is because the political pressure on the international justice system is extreme.
„And we see pressure on the prosecutor, pressure on the judges. Israel is trying to obstruct it by moving exceptions against the independence of the judges. And the US is making pressure through open threats,“ she added.
According to Albanese, the failure to issue arrest warrants is putting international justice on the edge.
„We might lose what we have, what we have built. Multilateralism is on the edge, and international law is on a knife‘s edge.
„It‘s about us, all of us students, doctors, professors, journalists, ordinary people in the street to protect it if our elected government officials don‘t do that.“
In this episode of One on One, journalist and news editor Sondos Asem is sitting down with Francesca Albanese, an outspoken international human rights lawyer and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. She is the 8th person to hold that role, and the first woman.
She is a self-described “reluctant chronicler of Genocide”, as she has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza since 7 October. Within the past year, she has submitted two reports to the UN human rights council, where she outlined her legal opinion on why the attacks on the Palestinian population constitute genocide.
Middle East Eye spoke to her on 13 November, during her visit to London, where she was invited to speak at several university campuses.
(October 30, 2024)
The defence ministry told Middle East Eye: “As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, and in this instance, only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities.”
(…)
Brendan O’Hara, the Scottish National Party’s spokesperson for the Middle East, told MEE it was “inconceivable”, given the scale of the destruction and death in Gaza, that the flights “do not contain footage which would be of significant interest to the investigators from the International Criminal Court”.
(…)
Labour MP Rachael Maskell told MEE: “It is crucial that any intelligence of breaches of international law are shared with the courts so they can assess the evidence and secure justice.”
“I trust that the UK government is working with the international courts to aid them in their work.”
To All Governments
– Publicly condemn Israel’s forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza as a war crime and crime against humanity, as well as other violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law by Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies and investigative mechanisms.
– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to stop violating international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, to fully comply with its obligations and the binding orders and advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, and to ensure the entry and safe distribution throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services. Consider, in that regard, the review and possible suspension of bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as proposed by the governments of Spain and Ireland, and the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement.
– Suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel so long as its forces commit violations of international humanitarian law with impunity.
– Enforce domestic legislation limiting the transfer of arms and military assistance for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
– Publicly support the International Criminal Court, uphold the court’s independence, and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.
– Urge the Government of Israel to grant access to independent, international monitors, including from the UN Special Procedures.
– Impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Israeli officials credibly implicated in ongoing serious violations, for the purpose of ending these violations.
– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law, and support reparations for all victims of gross human rights abuses.
– Support the creation of a register of damages, caused by unlawful Israeli action to persons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, for the purposes of calculating reparations.
(…)
To the Prosecutor of the International Crimin19al Court
– Investigate Israeli authorities’ forced displacement and prevention of the right to return as a crime against humanity.
(October 29, 2024)
Delays in the Palestine investigation trace back to 2015 when former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated a preliminary examination. Although the investigation met the necessary criteria in 2019, it was postponed due to jurisdiction debates over Palestinian territories. The formal investigation began in March 2021, yet no meaningful progress has been made, further delaying requests against Netanyahu and Gallant.
(May 28, 2024)
Thanks to their comprehensive access to Palestinian telecoms infrastructure, the sources said, intelligence operatives could capture the calls without installing spyware on the ICC official’s devices.
“If Fatou Bensouda spoke to any person in the West Bank or Gaza, then that phone call would enter [intercept] systems,” one source said. Another said there was no hesitation internally over spying on the prosecutor, adding: “With Bensouda, she’s black and African, so who cares?”
The surveillance system did not capture calls between ICC officials and anyone outside Palestine. However, multiple sources said the system required the active selection of the overseas phone numbers of ICC officials whose calls Israeli intelligence agencies decided to listen to.
According to one Israeli source, a large whiteboard in an Israeli intelligence department contained the names of about 60 people under surveillance – half of them Palestinians and half from other countries, including UN officials and ICC personnel.
In The Hague, Bensouda and her senior staff were alerted by security advisers and via diplomatic channels that Israel was monitoring their work.
(May 28, 2024)
Die Haftbefehle für Benjamin Netanyahu und Yoav Gallant, die der internationale Strafgerichtshof (IStGH) letzte Woche ausgeschrieben hatte, beziehen sich zwar auf Verbrechen, die die israelische Führung während des neuen Gaza-Krieges begangen haben soll, die Untersuchungen begannen aber bereits 2015.
Damals eröffnete die damalige Chefanklägerin des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs, Fatou Bensouda, die Überprüfung von Vorwürfen gegen Einzelpersonen im Gazastreifen, im Westjordanland und in Ostjerusalem.
(May 28, 2024)
The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.
Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.
That investigation, launched in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the country’s conduct in its war in Gaza.
(…)
After the surprise meeting with Kabila and Bensouda in New York, Cohen repeatedly phoned the chief prosecutor and sought meetings with her, three sources recalled. According to two people familiar with the situation, at one stage Bensouda asked Cohen how he had obtained her phone number, to which he replied: “Did you forget what I do for a living?”