Five countries have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the situation in Palestine, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Friday.
The countries are South Africa, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Djibouti, and the Comoros.
Under the Rome Statute, any member country may inform the prosecutor about a situation when it thinks one or more crimes falling under the court’s jurisdiction were committed to decide whether one or more persons ought to be sued.
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Khan confirmed that his office is already investigating the situation in Palestine with an investigation that began in March 2021.
“The investigation is ongoing and covers the increase in hostilities and violence since the attacks on October 7, 2023. In accordance with the Rome Statute, our office can investigate crimes committed within a State Party’s territory and against its nationals,” he said.
The prosecutor added that upon starting his term in June 2021, he established a specialized team to make progress on the investigation of the situation in Palestine.
“As I stated in my recent visit to Rafah Crossing, pursuant to its mandate, this Unified Team is moving with focus in collecting, preserving and analyzing information and communications from key stakeholders in relation to relevant incidents,” Khan said.
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The office has gathered “a significant volume of information and evidence,” he said and added: “I continue to encourage all those with relevant information to contact my Office.”
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel has, thus far, killed over 12,000 Palestinians, including 5,000 children and over 3,000 women.
The Israeli army continues to pound civilian homes throughout the Gaza Strip with new massacres reported everywhere in the besieged enclave.
(PC, AA)
Only five countries? How about the rest?
Shame on them
All countries who stand for justice should refer Israel for war crimes. Well seeing that Mr Karim is from the Ahmediay/Kadiyani group who have been declared as non Muslims due to their beliefs and practices , can the world expect him to be fair and just in prosecuting the war Crimes commited by Israel and aided by USA? He got the job by a small margin with the help of Israel and USA.Raises some questions on his appointment ! Why has Mr Karim not prosecuted the previous war crimes of Israel so far? Can we expect justice from Mr Karim Khan. ?