Five countries seek ICC investigation into the situation in the Palestinian territories

Five countries seek ICC investigation into the situation in the Palestinian territories

Kyiv  •  UNN

November 18 2023, 12:33 PM  •  1408 views

Group of countries seeks war crimes probe in Palestinian territories

International Criminal Court prosecutor Kareem Khan said on Friday that he had received a joint request from five countries to investigate the situation in the Palestinian territories, UNN reports citing Reuters. 

Details

Prosecutor Karim Khan said that the request came from South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti. South Africa stated that the request was made "in order for the ICC to give urgent attention to the serious situation in Palestine".

The ICC is already investigating "the situation in the State of Palestine" for alleged war crimes committed since June 13, 2014.

Last month, Khan said that his office has jurisdiction over both the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and any crimes committed as part of Israel's response, including the bombings in the Gaza Strip.

Since the investigation is already underway, Friday's request will have limited practical impact, the newspaper writes.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said that it has so far "collected a significant amount of information and evidence" about crimes in the Palestinian territories, as well as those committed by Palestinians.

Appendix

Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognize its jurisdiction.

The ICC can investigate the actions of nationals of non-member states under certain circumstances, including when crimes are alleged to have been committed on the territories of member states. The Palestinian territories have been considered among the members of the ICC since 2015.

As a court of last resort, the ICC prosecutes individuals for alleged criminal behavior when its 124 member states are unwilling or unable to prosecute themselves.