The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed cases with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Italian authorities, asking them to immediately detain Major General Ghassan Alian - who is currently in Rome, Italy - on counts of "genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes," the organization announced on Monday.
Maj. Gen. Alian, who is Israeli-Druze, heads the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the IDF unit responsible for overseeing civilian policy in the West Bank. COGAT has been responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid delivery into the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, including food, medicines and vaccination programs.
HRF claims that Alian has "supervised and enforced a total siege on Gaza, cutting off essential resources such as food, water, electricity, and medical supplies."
This alleged blockade has resulted in "mass starvation, civilian deaths, and the destruction of critical infrastructure, including hospitals," HRF added.
HRF cites United Nations reports that claimed COGAT's constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The foundation added that the ICC should apply the same reasoning behind the arrest warrants against Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu to Alian, arguing that he played a pivotal role in supervising the same policies as the other two.
"His presence in Rome provides Italian authorities with an opportunity to uphold international law by issuing an arrest warrant and ensuring his prosecution," HRF said.
“COGAT has been instrumental in enforcing policies that amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions,” Haroon Raza, an HRF lawyer, wrote.
“Major General Alian has directly overseen these crimes, and the time to act is now.”
'Human animals'
HRF also referenced Alian's October 2023 speech in which he said "human animals must be treated as such," declaring it evidence his genocidal intent and desire to destroy the population of Gaza.
The statements HRF refers to were taken from a video on October 10, 2023, in which Alian said: “Kidnapping, abusing and murdering children, women and elderly people is not human. There is no justification for that. Hamas has turned into ISIS, and the residents of Gaza, instead of being appalled, are celebrating.
“Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.”
Alian, as the head of COGAT, is one the highest ranking Druze members of the IDF. The HRF complaint makes no mention of Alian being Druze.