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We and our partners process data for the following purposesPersonalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development , Strictly Necessary Cookies Learn More →Agree and close Subscribe to our free daily newsletter Follow us Donate * Home * Sections * Global News * Climate & Environment * Peace & Humanitarian * Human Rights * Global Health * Science & Tech * Sustainable Business & Finance * Ukraine Stories * Opinions * Explorations * International Geneva 20 years from now * Ukraine Stories * Dispatches from women in Afghanistan * The water we share * GS Podcast Series: Conversations on resilience * See all * Newsletters * Videos * Podcasts * About us * About us * News * Our team * Partnerships * Contact * * Sections * Global News * Climate & Environment * Peace & Humanitarian * Human Rights * Global Health * Science & Tech * Sustainable Business & Finance * Ukraine Stories * opinions * Explorations * International Geneva 20 years from now * Ukraine Stories * Dispatches from women in Afghanistan * The water we share * View all * Newsletters * Videos * Podcasts * About us * About us * News * Our team * Partnerships * Contact * * * * * Global News International justice Actu Published on May 21, 2024 17:01. / Updated on May 21, 2024 17:21. ICC PROSECUTOR 'DID THE RIGHT THING’ IN SEEKING ARREST OF ISRAELI AND HAMAS LEADERS, SAYS ALAIN WERNER * Share this article by email * Share this article on Linkedin * Share this article on Facebook * Share this article on Twitter * Share a link to this article By Aline Jaccottet ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, pictured at the International Criminal Court, 16 June 2021. (ICC) * Share this article by email * Share this article on Linkedin * Share this article on Facebook * Share this article on Twitter * Share a link to this article By requesting arrest warrants on Monday against leaders of Israel and Hamas, Karim Khan has angered Israel but proven that he is “capable of withstanding pressure,” according to Civitas Maxima’s founder Alain Werner. Israel’s foreign minister called it “a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever”. For a Hamas official in Gaza, the decision “equates the victim with the executioner” and will encourage the continuation of the “war of extermination”. On Monday afternoon, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, succeeded in scandalising both Israeli and Hamas leaders with a single statement. Khan began by listing the crimes of both parties. He stated that he had “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, “bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza Strip) from at least 8 October 2023”. He described “a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population, pursuant to state policy”. His words came as Gallant met with United States national security adviser Jack Sullivan in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and reaffirmed his determination to extend the offensive in Gaza. Hamas leaders were not spared either. Yahya Sinwar, the leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the political bureau, and Mohammed Deif, who leads the armed wing, are “criminally responsible” for the murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians during the 7 October attack, an act amounting to “extermination”, the statement reads. They are also guilty, according to the prosecutor, of taking at least 245 hostages, “held in inhumane conditions, and some...subjected to sexual violence, including rape, during their captivity”. As a result, Khan is asking the ICC to issue arrest warrants for the five men: Netanyahu, Gallant, Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Deif. The statement was well received by Palestinians. “The prosecutor acknowledges the crimes committed in Gaza. Even if we doubt that his initiative will lead to the imprisonment of an Israeli official, at least things are being said,” said Hamed Qusai, a professor at Al-Quds Open University in Jerusalem. As for the Hamas leaders, “classified as terrorists by several states”, the text won't change much. “They are used to being targeted by international prosecutions. And then, the court would have a hard time enforcing an arrest warrant: Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif have been evading Israel for months, hiding in a Gaza tunnel!” Qusai said. ‘THE PROSECUTOR GAVE IN TO THE RIOTERS’ In Israel, however, Khan’s announcement has caused an uproar. Bymentioning Israel and Hamas in the same communiqué, the prosecutor seeks to “put both parties to the conflict on an equal footing” that conceals “deep contradictions”, asserted Israeli lawyer Yaacov Garson, a specialist in international law. “Hamas' crimes, proven by an investigation, are assumed and glorified by their perpetrators. Facts and intentions are fully characterised under the Rome Statute.” In contrast, Garson said, “the leaders of the democratic state of Israel, lumped together with the leaders of a terrorist movement, are judged only on their presumed intentions”. He cited the statement, which refers to “the deliberate starvation of civilians” or “intentional homicides”. In reality, the deaths and destruction in Gaza are the unintended consequences of war, highly regrettable but not illegal under international law, said Garson, who noted that in January, “the International Court of Justice could not prove genocidal intent on Israel's part. And there is none: it would suffice for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages for us to end this war”. For the lawyer, if Khan persists, it is because he is “under pressure”.: “The prosecutor has given in to the pro-Palestinian rioters and vandals who attribute a destructive intent to Israel under the guise of compassion for the Palestinians,” he said, alluding to recent protests in European and US campuses. TEST FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE Alain Werner, founder and director of Civitas Maxima, an international network of lawyers and investigators based in Geneva representing victims of international crimes, has a completely different interpretation of Khan's announcement, of whom he is a close associate. “His statement shows that he can resist political pressure two years after indicting Vladimir Putin in a historic decision. Karim Khan did the right thing: he surrounded himself with a panel of international law legends and subjected himself to a legal review of the process,” Werner asserted. For Werner, Khan may be getting his vindication. “He was criticised for his inaction; some said after indicting Putin that he was playing the West's game. Today, he is demonstrating his independence.” And he plays the game with finesse, according to Civitas Maxima’s director. “By publicly announcing his request to the court, he prevented the judges from making their decision behind closed doors, procrastinating or doing nothing.” Targeted by Netanyahu, who called any ICC arrest warrant against Israel a “historic outrage” last month, the prosecutor commented on US channel CNN: “No one is above the law.” As Israeli-US anger rose on Monday, with President Joe Biden calling Khan's decision “outrageous”, the stakes are immense for the ICC. If the court decides to act on the prosecutor's request, the targeted individuals could be arrested upon entering the territory of any of the 124 states party to the ICC, which relies on the goodwill of its members. This would present, according to Werner, “a significant issue of legitimacy for the signatory states to the Rome Statute”. “Would they live up to their duty? For international justice, it would be a moment of truth,” he said. This article was originally published in French in Le Temps. It has been adapted and translated into English by Geneva Solutions. Articles from third-party websites are not licensed under Creative Commons and cannot be republished without the media’s consent. International justice Israel-Gaza war War crimes * Share this article by email * Share this article on Linkedin * Share this article on Facebook * Share this article on Twitter * Share a link to this article Geneva Solutions content is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0. 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