Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs handed on Thursday to the ICC prosecutor the official results of the government’s investigation into the murder of veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki’s report was received by the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor Karim Khan, who is also examining a range of accusations of war crimes committed by Israel.
📷 #ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC and Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Palestine H.E. Dr Riad Malki, during visit at the ICC pic.twitter.com/nTbdtvMNnx
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 9, 2022
Al-Maliki urged the ICC Prosecutor to bring the criminals responsible for this crime and other crimes targeting Palestinian civilians, children, women, journalists, doctors and other protected groups, to international justice in order to achieve justice.
During a meeting in The Hague with the ICC Public Prosecutor, Al-Maliki stressed that the Palestinian leadership and people are following with interest what the ICC is doing and that we will not allow any party to ignore the Palestinian rights, especially in light of the international community’s double standards policy and its selectivity in international law.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs questioned the delay in the Court’s investigations into the Palestinian issue, calling on the ICC Public Prosecutor to make the Palestinian issue a priority in their investigations to avoid any delays in achieving justice because delayed justice means more crimes and more Palestinian victims.
📷 #ICC President Piotr Hofmański and Registrar Peter Lewis with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of #Palestine H.E. Dr Riad Malki and Ambassador/Head of the Palestinian Mission to the Netherlands H.E. Ms. Rawan Sulaiman, during visit at the ICC pic.twitter.com/Pndfih54hH
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 9, 2022
“Israel commits crimes in broad daylight, brags about its crimes, passes laws that promote war crimes and crimes against humanity, adopts budgets and sets policies, all in public, and kills in front of the cameras,” he explained.
“What is the ICC Public Prosecutor waiting for in order to go ahead with a transparent and tangible investigation?,” the Foreign Minister questioned.
Al-Maliki stressed the need for the ICC prosecutor to take concrete steps to prove the Court’s seriousness in dealing with the crimes of the Israeli occupation in Palestine, due to the gravity, size and nature of these crimes.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
