OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (The Palestine Information Centre) Hamas Movement, on the 25th anniversary of adopting the Rome Statute, called for international judicial intervention to stop continued violations and crimes perpetrated by Israel.
The statute defined the framework for the International Criminal Court that serves as the final resort for individuals affected by breaches of international humanitarian law including the occupied Palestinian territories.
Hamas’s Legal Department emphasized, in a statement on Tuesday, the urgent need for immediate action to stop Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians.
“Such intervention is crucial for activating international accountability mechanisms, primarily through the International Criminal Court, to guarantee the rights of all Palestinian victims’ access to effective remedies,” the Department confirmed.
It added, “Israel’s attempts to avoid accountability must not impede its leaders’ appearance before international courts.”
The Legal Department pointed out that nine years had passed since Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute and the ICC’s declaration of extending jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories. “Despite this, little progress has been made in terms of implementing measures to address the situation in Palestine.”
The Department added that the lack of progress is deeply concerning for Palestinian victims who “suffer from the Israeli apartheid government’s acts of terrorism in occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the besieged Gaza Strip”.
The policies and double standards of the ICC Prosecutor hinder the application of international justice and contradict the principles outlined in the Court’s charter preamble and the purposes and principles of the United Nations, particularly those related to maintaining international peace and security, the Department underlined.
It finally called on the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Public Prosecutor to continue its pursuit of prosecution and judicial accountability by identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators of and accomplices in crimes against the Palestinian people.
