The International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague in The Netherlands is the world's sole permanent court with the power to prosecute individuals for international crimes. These crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
Typically, cases will advance to the ICC once they have cycled through local and national courts with no prosecution of crimes.
As of September 2021, 123 countries are signed on the Rome Statute, the binding legal treaty that enacted the creation of the court and serves as its legal guide. Israel signed on to the Statute on December 31, 2000, but its signature was never approved or accepted.
The Judicial Division is the body of lawmakers that hears cases, headed by the president. Cases are brought to the Judicial Division by the Prosecutor.
On March 3, 2021, then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the opening of a full war crimes probe against Israel and Hamas, focusing on the Gaza wars in 2014 and 2018, as well as the launching of rockets by Hamas against Israeli civilians and the settlement enterprise.
"The ICC’s decision not only undermines the pursuit of peace but also disregards the recognized right of a nation to act in self-defense when facing the threat of Hamas," WJC stated.
"We call on the International Criminal Court to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders," Hamas said in a statement.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, instead of standing as a bastion of justice, has devolved into a stage for hypocrisy and cowardice.
The ICC's warrants mean that neither Netanyahu nor Gallant can travel to some 120 countries that are party to the Rome Statute.
“The Senate must pass or bill to protect Americans and our allies from wrongful targeting by the ICC. Standing up for our great ally Israel shouldn’t be a partisan issue."
The request requires the approval of ICC judges, but their decision has been delayed, partly because of several rounds of legal filings by Israel that have challenged the court's jurisdiction.
ICC judges are reviewing Khan's May request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, his defense chief and Hamas leaders.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke of normalization, the importance of minorities in the Middle East, and the right of Israel to self-defense.
“We have failed to live up to the promise of Never Again that was made in Nuremberg,” ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan told reporters in the German city.
Khan has denied allegations of misconduct that were reported to the court's governing body last month. At that time he asked the court's own internal oversight body to investigate them.
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