‘Israeli crime of genocide’: Lawyers for Gaza file case to International Criminal Court

A group of lawyers representing Palestinian victims of the Israeli offensive against the people of the besieged Gaza Strip has filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that Israel’s actions amount to the crime of genocide.

French veteran lawyer Gilles Devers submitted the complaint on Wednesday, stressing that “there are all the criteria  for the crime of genocide.” 

Citing cases such as former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, he argued that the previous situations set the “precedent against which the complaint had been submitted.”

“It is clear for me that there are all the criteria for the crime of genocide,” Devers said. “So this is not my opinion, it’s the reality of law.”

Lawyers say Israel’s acts against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide and call on the West to refrain from abetting crimes.

With concerns that serious war crimes are being committed in Gaza, Devers said governments that did not wish to be found complicit should refrain from backing Israel.

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“Governments must choose which camp they are on, if they support human rights or genocide. They cannot give speeches about international law and human rights and then accept Israel’s attack without doing nothing,” he said.

The group also collected the witness accounts of Palestinian victims whom they legally represent in court.

Israel has made no attempt to hide the hallmarks of genocide, the group has argued, by cutting food and electricity to Gaza, attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure and using dehumanizing talk that likens people to “animals”.

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Devers said the latest bombing of Gaza amounted to the most relevant crimes that the court had seen in decades.

“If the ICC does nothing, then it’s the end of the ICC,” he said. “We have sufficient proof for a mandate of arrest against Mr Netanyahu,” Devers said.

Israel does not recognize the ICC, but Devers said that did not render the court ineffective.

Experts maintain the civil society initiative could result in arrest warrants being issued against top Israeli politicians, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The developments come as Israel continues to draw outrage, criticism, and frustration, amid the world’s failure to impose a ceasefire to end the massacre in Gaza.

The initiative led by Devers is one in a number of lawsuits presented to the ICC in the past weeks.

On November 9, three Palestinian human rights groups urged the body to investigate Israel for “apartheid” as well as “genocide” and issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

#JusticeForGaza, another initiative, aims to bring together diverse voices from international civil society, political leaders and representatives to petition the court. Prominent European politicians who have advocated for Palestinian rights, including Spain’s Ione Belarra and Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, are among the more than 80 signatories of that petition.

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Nearly 190 Palestinians have also been killed by Israel’s forces and settlers across the occupied territories since October the seventh.

In 2021, the ICC ruled that it has jurisdiction over grave crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territories, including potential war crimes committed by any party on the ground.

Latest reports indicate that a harrowing nightmare unfolding in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. Israel relentlessly attacks the complex in defiance of widespread international outcry to halt its onslaught of thousands of innocent women and children trapped there.

The regime forces have stormed the largest medical complex in Gaza with tanks and soldiers where thousands of injured and displaced people have taken shelter.

Meantime, the regime is pressing ahead with its airstrikes and ground operation across the fully blockaded Gaza Strip.

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The death toll in Gaza is now nearing 11,500, mostly women and children. Some 200 medical staff have also been killed since October 7.

Residential areas and hospitals have recently been the prime target of the Israeli attacks. The regime has rejected any proposals for a humanitarian ceasefire despite back-to-back protests and international pleas.

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