ICC Prosecutor Asserts Court's Authority for Arrest Warrants on Israeli & Hamas Leaders

[Social Media]

 

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, reaffirmed the court's jurisdiction over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and urged judges to promptly rule on his request for arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures. The call came in a 49-page legal brief submitted by Khan, who stressed that "it is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation."

 

Khan’s appeal to the ICC pretrial judges is a direct response to his earlier filings in May, in which he requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three senior Hamas leaders—Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. Since that filing, both Haniyeh and Deif have been killed in the ongoing conflict.

 

Khan’s May request was based on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both Israeli and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 attacks on Israel, has since been named Hamas' new leader in Gaza.

 

The prosecutor’s move comes amidst a complex backdrop of legal arguments submitted by various countries, academics, victims' groups, and human rights organizations, either contesting or supporting the ICC’s authority to issue these arrest warrants. A central focus of these arguments has been whether the ICC's jurisdiction is nullified by a clause in the 1993 Oslo Accords, which stipulated that the Palestinians would not have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals.

 

Khan dismissed this argument, labeling it as "without merit" and asserting that it conflicts with a proper interpretation of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. He further contended that the argument "misunderstands basic concepts of jurisdiction under international law, including under the law of occupation," and how these principles apply to the court's mandate.

 

The potential issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant could have significant implications, particularly for their international travel, as Israel is not a member of the ICC. While the immediate risk of prosecution is minimal, the threat of arrest could hinder their movements abroad. Netanyahu has vehemently denied the accusations, calling Khan's actions a "disgrace" and an attack not just on himself but on the entire Israeli military and the state of Israel. Despite this, he vowed to continue Israel’s military operations against Hamas. Hamas, in turn, condemned Khan's efforts, arguing that the prosecutor was equating "the victim with the executioner."

 

The Israel-Hamas war, which erupted on October 7 following a surprise assault by Hamas militants that resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, has been devastating. The militants also abducted approximately 250 individuals, of whom around 110 remain in Gaza, with a third believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory strikes have led to the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas Health Ministry, although the distinction between militants and civilians in this toll remains unclear.

 

As the legal debate over the ICC's jurisdiction continues, the timeline for the judges' ruling on Khan's request remains uncertain. The decision will be closely watched, as it could set a precedent for the court's authority in complex and highly charged international conflicts.

 

Credit: ABC News 2024-08-26

 

 

 

Get the ASEAN NOW daily NEWSLETTER - Click HERE to subscribe

[jesimps]

12 hours ago, Social Media said:

 

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, reaffirmed the court's jurisdiction over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and urged judges to promptly rule on his request for arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures. The call came in a 49-page legal brief submitted by Khan, who stressed that "it is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation."

 

Khan’s appeal to the ICC pretrial judges is a direct response to his earlier filings in May, in which he requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three senior Hamas leaders—Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. Since that filing, both Haniyeh and Deif have been killed in the ongoing conflict.

 

Khan’s May request was based on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both Israeli and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 attacks on Israel, has since been named Hamas' new leader in Gaza.

 

The prosecutor’s move comes amidst a complex backdrop of legal arguments submitted by various countries, academics, victims' groups, and human rights organizations, either contesting or supporting the ICC’s authority to issue these arrest warrants. A central focus of these arguments has been whether the ICC's jurisdiction is nullified by a clause in the 1993 Oslo Accords, which stipulated that the Palestinians would not have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals.

 

Khan dismissed this argument, labeling it as "without merit" and asserting that it conflicts with a proper interpretation of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. He further contended that the argument "misunderstands basic concepts of jurisdiction under international law, including under the law of occupation," and how these principles apply to the court's mandate.

 

The potential issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant could have significant implications, particularly for their international travel, as Israel is not a member of the ICC. While the immediate risk of prosecution is minimal, the threat of arrest could hinder their movements abroad. Netanyahu has vehemently denied the accusations, calling Khan's actions a "disgrace" and an attack not just on himself but on the entire Israeli military and the state of Israel. Despite this, he vowed to continue Israel’s military operations against Hamas. Hamas, in turn, condemned Khan's efforts, arguing that the prosecutor was equating "the victim with the executioner."

 

The Israel-Hamas war, which erupted on October 7 following a surprise assault by Hamas militants that resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, has been devastating. The militants also abducted approximately 250 individuals, of whom around 110 remain in Gaza, with a third believed to be dead. Israel's retaliatory strikes have led to the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas Health Ministry, although the distinction between militants and civilians in this toll remains unclear.

 

As the legal debate over the ICC's jurisdiction continues, the timeline for the judges' ruling on Khan's request remains uncertain. The decision will be closely watched, as it could set a precedent for the court's authority in complex and highly charged international conflicts.

 

Credit: ABC News 2024-08-26

 

 

 

Get the ASEAN NOW daily NEWSLETTER - Click HERE to subscribe

This Khan wouldn't be a Muslim by any chance?

[Jeff the Chef]

47 minutes ago, jesimps said:

This Khan wouldn't be a Muslim by any chance?

 

Karim Asad Ahmad Khan KC (born 30 March 1970) is a British lawyer specialising in international criminal law and international human rights law, who has served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 2021.

After his appointment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, he served as a United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and acted as Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh/ISIL in Iraq (UNITAD), which was established in accordance with Security Council resolution 2379 (2017) to support national efforts to hold ISIL (Daesh) accountable for acts that may amount to war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Iraq.

In February 2021, Khan was elected the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In May 2024, he announced his intention to apply for an arrest warrant for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.[1][2][3]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karim_Ahmad_Khan#:~:text=Khan is a member of,Shyamala Alagendra%2C a Malaysian lawyer.