The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan defended his decision to indict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes, saying that Israel has made “no real effort” to investigate these allegations. According to Khan, the state has not met the requirements for criminal investigations that comply with established case law, quoted by News.bg.
“We are here as a court of last resort and so far we have not seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action to meet these demands“, he said in response to criticism, including from the United States, which expressed disagreement with the arrest warrant issued last week.
In November 2024, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza conflict. Israel denies all charges and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court based in The Hague.
“I hope that things can change and that we will see concrete actions taken by Israel“, Khan added after Israel and “Hamas“ signed a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. He stressed that if Israel takes the initiative to investigate the allegations, the case could be returned to Israeli courts.
The ICC, which includes 125 member states, is the main court for prosecuting those accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression. Khan noted that Israel has strong legal expertise, but stressed that the key question is whether it has been used to investigate and seriously consider the allegations made against Israel regarding the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“I think the answer to that question is “no”,“ the prosecutor concluded.