THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has told judges that Israeli objections to the investigation into the 13-month war in Gaza should be rejected.
Karim Khan submitted his formal response late Monday to an appeal by Israel over The Hague-based court’s jurisdiction after judges issued arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
The embattled Israeli leader, who is also facing corruption charges in his homeland, called the arrest warrant ” a black day in the history of nations ” and vowed to fight the allegations.
Individuals cannot contest an arrest warrant directly, but the state of Israel can object to the entire investigation. Israel argued in a December filing that it could look into allegations against its leaders on its own and that continuing to investigate Israelis was a violation of state sovereignty.
The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities — war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The court’s 125 member states include Palestine, Ukraine, Canada and every country in the European Union, but dozens of countries don’t accept the court’s jurisdiction, including Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
In Khan’s combined 55-page response, he says the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, allowed it to prosecute crimes that take place in the territory of member states, regardless of where the perpetrators hail from.
The judges are expected to render a decision in the coming months.