60 Countries File Arguments To International Criminal Courts Related To Israel-Hamas War In Gaza

Refugees in Gaza/DOK UNRWA

JAKARTA - More than 60 countries and others will be allowed to file arguments to the International Criminal Court when the judge considers whether to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders on both sides in the Gaza war, according to court documents.

Attorney for the International Criminal Court (ICC) said there was a plausible reason to believe in Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, military commander Mohammed Al-Masri, and other Hamas political leaders Ismail Haniyeh, bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Reported by Reuters, in a document published on Tuesday, July 23, the judge gave permission to 18 states, including the United States, Germany and South Africa, 40 organizations and individuals to submit written submissions no later than August 6.

This is related to prosecutor Karim Khan's request in May for an arrest warrant in connection with the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the next Israeli attack on Palestinian territory.

About 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack and about 250 people were held hostage, according to Israeli calculations. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza that caused a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have rejected charges of war crimes, and representatives of both sides criticized Khan's decision to request an arrest warrant.

While no deadline has been set to decide on a request for an arrest warrant from the prosecution, allowing dozens of legal arguments will slow down the process by a panel of three judges in deciding the matter.

The request for intervention was not published by the court but some are expected to be in response to Britain's request to argue over whether the court has jurisdiction over Israeli citizens due to provisions in the Oslo Agreement that state Palestine has no jurisdiction over Israeli citizens.

Several countries that have submitted the request, including Germany, the United States, and Hungary, have condemned the actions of the ICC prosecutors who requested arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

Other countries, including Spain, Ireland, South Africa, and Brazil, are very vocal in supporting investigations into alleged crimes against Palestinians.

Israel itself has not asked to intervene, but the Palestinian Authority has done so and is among those allowed to intervene.

The ICC has carried out a continuing investigation into alleged crimes in its jurisdiction committed in Palestinian territory and by Palestinians in Israeli territory since 2021.

In that year, judge ICC ruled the court had jurisdiction after the Palestinian government signed up for the court in 2015, after being granted the status of a United Nations observer state.