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SvennoJ 7 hours ago
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Israel making ‘no effort’ to probe Gaza war crimes allegations: ICC chief

Israel, despite its extensive legal expertise, has not properly investigated war crimes allegations brought against it during the war in Gaza, according to Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The question is have those judges [in Israel], have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinise the allegations that we’ve seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was ‘no’,” Khan said in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

“We’re here as a court of last resort and … as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence,” he added.

Khan also criticised the US House of Representatives’ vote last week to sanction the ICC for issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, saying it “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned”.

On top of its warrant for Netanyahu, the ICC has also issued warrants for Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

EU’s Borrell says ‘cherry-picking’ ICC arrest warrants undermines credibility

The European Union’s former top diplomat Josep Borrell has said that “cherrypicking in applying the Rome Statute is incomprehensible”, in a reference to declarations by several countries, including the US, Italy and Poland, that they will not enforce the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as mandated by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC. In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

“How can we expect third countries to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Putin (which they should!) and then say we won’t enforce it against Netanyahu?” Borrell wrote on X.

“Our credibility as a community of law is eroding.”

The EU's credibility is at an all time low, can't even fix the problems in your own backyard.


Israel’s defence minister cancels all administrative detention orders for settlers

Israel Katz has announced that he will cancel all administrative detention orders against Israeli settlers in response to the planned release of some Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal.

“I have decided to release the settlers detained in administrative detention and to convey a clear message of strengthening and encouraging the [occupied West Bank] settlements”, he said in a statement.

Settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. More than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s nearly 7 million population – live in 150 settlements and 128 outposts spread across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.