Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids in the past 24 hours in Gaza, while the invading army ordered evacuation to the residents of Khan Younis, the second largest city in Gaza. The reports suggest that more than 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed bombardment after a seven-day truce collapsed on Friday. More than 1.5 million people have been displaced, since Israel launched a military offensive on October 7.
The Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan has recently paid an official trip to Israel and Palestine to have first-hand knowledge of the war brutalities and crimes against humanities perpetrated by warring Palestinian armed group in Southern Israel on October 7th and the Israeli military on Gaza and the West Bank in the past seven weeks. According to the ICC Prosecutor, his visit was not investigative but he was able to speak to victims on both sides of the conflict. Khan told the newsmen that he witnessed calculated cruelty at the sites attacked by Hamas.
Those attacks represent some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes that the ICC was established to address. He further emphasized that the way Israel responds to these attacks is subject to clear legal parameters that govern armed conflict. Acknowledging that conflict in densely populated areas such as Gaza was inherently complex, international humanitarian law must still apply.
The war in Gaza entered its eighth week with scores of deaths, destruction, and a mass exodus of bereaved Palestinians is currently underway to avoid casualties and save lives from reckless bombardment and shelling of their staunch enemy. The world has witnessed dual standards of Western nations, the impotence of the UN, and prejudiced policies of its executive arm along with the betrayal of Arab neighbours, whom majority opted to protect their economic and political interests in deep contrast to international humanitarian law, human rights, civil freedoms and above all Muslim brotherhood. Meanwhile, the current conduct of the ICC prosecutor and Israel’s cooperation with him at this crucial moment seems to be malignant and disastrous for the Palestinian cause.
As of now, Israel is neither a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court nor a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). At the same time, Israel and its close ally have blatantly snubbed the former ICC prosecutor on initiation of an investigation into Israel’s war crimes against innocent Palestinians on occupied Palestinian land, while rejecting the ICC mandate in its case. Surprisingly, the incumbent ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan not only visited Israel, a non-member state that previously challenged ICC’s jurisdiction in its country but returned with bags full of evidence and proofs of crimes committed by Hamas in a few hours-long operation on Israeli land. Interestingly, the Jewish state neither objected ICC mandate nor obstructed Karim’s visit to its country instead Tel Aviv colluded with Khan who in turn extended ICC’s already ongoing investigation into Israel’s crimes against humanity to the current Hamas-Israel conflict with malicious intentions to benefit Israel.
Currently, Israel is committing genocide of the Palestinian people and blatantly violating global humanitarian law that is categorically condemned by the majority of the nations. There is unbelievable pressure on the Jewish state and its allies because of their inhumane atrocities and crimes against innocent civilians. The cabal of aggressors has managed the trip of the pro-west ICC Chief to neutralize international pressure by alleging Hamas of war crimes in South Israel along with issuing a clean chit to the Jewish state on its genocidal actions in Gaza in the garb of the densely populated battlefield and complex war conditions. Hence, the world nations and Palestinian people must be aware of the development and outcomes of the ICC investigation into to Hamas Israel conflict, which smells bais and malignancy at an early stage of that collusion/conspiracy.
