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Palestinian FM vows cooperation with international courts at The Hague

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister told reporters Thursday that the authority would not interfere with an International Criminal Court investigation into Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel and will support the court’s overall probe of actions in the Palestinian territories. The court in The Hague investigates and prosecutes people for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki met with chief prosecutor Karim Khan twice during a two-day visit to the Netherlands to drum up international support for an ICC investigation.

Quick Read

  • Palestinian Authority supports ICC investigation into Hamas’ October 7 attacks.
  • ICC in The Hague focuses on war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
  • Investigation initiated in 2021 includes Gaza military operations and settlement expansion.
  • Israel contests ICC jurisdiction due to Palestine’s status and non-membership.
  • Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister accuses Israel of violating international law in Gaza.
  • Calls for U.N. General Assembly resolution for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid.
  • Palestinian delegation submits to International Court of Justice on Israeli policies.
  • Hearings on legality of Israeli policies scheduled for February 2024.

The Associated Press has the story:

Palestinian FM vows cooperation with international courts at The Hague

Newslooks- THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister told reporters Thursday that the authority would not interfere with an International Criminal Court investigation into Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel and will support the court’s overall probe of actions in the Palestinian territories.

The court in The Hague investigates and prosecutes people for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki met with chief prosecutor Karim Khan twice during a two-day visit to the Netherlands to drum up international support for an ICC investigation.

British lawyer Karim Khan was sworn in Wednesday as the new chief prosecutor
FILE – In this Monday, June 4, 2007 file photo, lawyer Karim Khan adjust his headphones in the courtroom of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands. Khan is being sworn in Wednesday, June 16, 2021 as the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, taking leadership of a busy and financially stretched team that is probing alleged atrocities around the globe. Khan, a 51-year-old English lawyer, has years of experience in international lawyer as a prosecutor, investigator and defense attorney. He takes over from Fatou Bensouda of Gambia, whose nine-year term ended Tuesday. (AP Photo/Robert Vos, Pool, File)

Asked by journalists if he would support the court looking into Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, he said that the Palestinian Authority would not interfere with the investigation. “We cannot say ‘Investigate here, don’t investigate there,’” al-Maliki said.

The international court launched an investigation in 2021 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, focusing on military operations against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the expansion of Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Khan confirmed last week that his mandate would extend to Palestinians who carried out crimes against Israelis. Though spurred by the last major conflict in Gaza, the investigation also can analyze potential war crimes allegations from the current Israel-Hamas war.

Israel argues the ICC has no jurisdiction in the conflict because Palestine is not an independent sovereign state. Israel isn’t a party to the treaty that underpins the international court and is not one of its 123 member states.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki speaks to reporters in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday Oct. 26, 2023, during a two-day visit to The Hague to meet with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan. (AP Photo/Molly Quell)

After his visit to court, al-Maliki said Israel was waging a war of revenge on Gaza that has violated international law. “It has no real objective other than the total destruction of every livable place in Gaza,” he said.

He urged world leaders to back a U.N. General Assembly resolution put forward by Arab nations that calls for a cease-fire to allow in humanitarian aid.

While in The Hague, the Palestinian delegation also made submissions to the International Court of Justice, which is considering the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Activists hold up a banner denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas as they demonstrate at the entrance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to court. (AP Photo/Aleks Furtula)

The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution asking the U.N.’s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the situation last year. Hearings in those proceedings are scheduled for February 2024.

The war is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly in the initial Hamas rampage. Israel has responded with a series of bombing strikes that, according to al-Maliki, have killed some 7,000 people and left more than 20,000 injured. He also accused Israel of focusing airstrikes on the southern part of Gaza after telling Palestinians living in the north to relocate.

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