The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has called on the sitting judges to “urgently render its decisions” on arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel and Hamas.
In May, Karim Khan filed a request to issue warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as top Hamas officials Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif.
The prosecutors argued that the men were complicit in “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Israel and Gaza.
The court has since granted permission to 18 states, including the US, Germany, and South Africa, as well as dozens of organizations and individuals, to provide their opinions about the ICC’s jurisdiction on the matter, given that “Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals (under) the Oslo Accords.”
In a 49-page document, Khan asked the judges to expedite the process, stressing that “any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims.”
“It is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation,” the prosecutor wrote in the legal brief, as quoted by the Associated Press. He argued that suggestions that the court could not take up the case were “without merit,” and that any party making a claim to the contrary “misunderstands basic concepts of jurisdiction under international law.”
Both Israel and Hamas have dismissed the allegations of war crimes, with Netanyahu blasting the accusation as a “disgrace.” Hamas has denounced Khan’s request for an arrest warrant, saying that it equates “the victim with the executioner.”
Israel is not a member of the ICC, which means that Netanyahu and Gallant will not face an immediate risk of prosecution, although an active arrest warrant could significantly restrict their travel abroad.
Haniyeh was assassinated last month in Tehran, and Sinwar has been chosen to replace him. Israel claimed that Deif had been killed in an airstrike in the southern part of Gaza in July. However, Hamas insists that Deif is still alive.
Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October. The conflict started with a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, which left around 1,200 people dead. The militant group also took more than 200 hostages, some of whom were later released through prisoner swaps or rescued by the Israeli Army.
In December, South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, an international body that is separate from the ICC. Israel has rejected the allegations while accusing Hamas of using civilians in Gaza as human shields.