Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

Abbas' Adviser Says ICC Should Issue More Arrest Warrants Against Israeli Officials

10:26, 24 August 2024

JAKARTA (Sputnik) – On May 20, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan filed arrest warrant requests for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for several senior Hamas officials.

Sputnik

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' adviser on international relations and his special envoy, Riyad al-Maliki, told Sputnik that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should issue arrest warrants against all Israeli officials involved in the alleged crimes against the Palestinian people committed since last October.

"I do believe that each and every Israeli official, who has contributed to crimes being committed against the Palestinian people, being a judge, being a minister, being a parliamentarian, being a politician, being member of parliament, being, you know, military or belong to security apparatus or whatever, you know, all of them, they have contributed in their own ways to such crimes that were committed against the Palestinian people. So I'm not really sparing anyone. I believe that all of them are. All of them are responsible, and the ICC should really issue arrest warrants against all of them," al-Maliki said in an interview.

The envoy said that the ICC had documented such statements from Israeli officials who "dehumanized" the Palestinian people and could issue more arrest warrants, adding that such a scenario was unlikely, however.

Palestine Welcomes Turkey's Decision to Join South Africa's Lawsuit Against Israel, Abbas Says

15 August, 15:18

"I believe that the ICC has been following, observing, you know, monitoring and documenting such statements coming from such Israeli officials. And I believe that they can always start with the first list, and then they could move to the second, third and continue until putting in prison all these Israeli officials who dared to dehumanize the Palestinians and calling for the death of the Palestinian people," al-Maliki added.

In December 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit accusing Israel of genocidal intent in Gaza with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to a rising civilian death toll in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

In January, the ICJ ruled on provisional measures ordering Israel to take urgent steps to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave. At the same time, the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In early March, the African nation went back to the ICJ to call for additional provisional measures against Israel that would address widespread starvation among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Later, in May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as several senior officials of Hamas.