International law expert Dr. Saad Jabbar described the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, as a bold step, but it came late, given the horror of the crimes committed in Gaza. He was surprised that the Prosecutor did not mention the issue of genocide committed by the occupation in Gaza.
The International Criminal Prosecutor announced that he submitted today requests to issue arrest warrants regarding the situation in the State of Palestine, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and 3 leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement (Hamas), namely: The Commander-in-Chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Hamas movement – Muhammad The guest, the head of the movement’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and the head of the movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Jabbar said – in an intervention on Tel Aviv Tribune – that Khan took a pre-emptive step to handcuff the court judges and pressure them to issue the order urgently, noting that in the case of Russian President Vladimir Putin he left the matter to the judges and did not announce it, despite the crime for which he was accused. There were far fewer crimes committed in the Gaza Strip by Putin.
Jabbar did not hide his astonishment that the Public Prosecutor brought charges against two Israeli officials, while he brought charges against 3 leaders of the Hamas movement.
Regarding the failure to include Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy in the list, the lawyer and expert in international law described the request of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court as lame, not ruling out that the list would be exclusive to Israelis and Palestinians alike, as he could in the future request the prosecution of military personnel and politicians.
He said that the Israeli government’s responsibility for the crimes committed in Gaza is a collective responsibility, not just an individual one, and that Israel will be held accountable as a state, while the Palestinian side will be held accountable as a resistance movement seeking to defend the rights of the Palestinians and their self-determination.
Jabbar was surprised that Khan did not mention genocide, but he suggested that he intended to delay this issue and allow the International Court of Justice to decide on the matter, explaining in the same context that genocide needs a greater establishment, while the crimes of which the Israelis are accused You don’t need a lot of testing.
Regarding the charges that Khan brought against Hamas leaders and his disregard for Palestinian prisoners and their rights, Jabbar pointed out that the Palestinians can say that those who targeted them on October 7 were armed and working in the Israeli army.
It is noteworthy that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said that the Israeli Prime Minister and his Defense Minister bear responsibility for crimes against humanity in Gaza.
On the other hand, he stated that there are reasonable reasons to believe that Hamas leaders are responsible for committing “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Israel, as he claimed.
