When Karim A.A. Khan was sworn in as the chief public prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in June 2021, he famously said the Court should be judged by its act — “the proof of the pudding should be in the eating”. By announcing his decision on May 20 to apply for arrest warrants against both the leadership of Hamas and Israel, Mr. Khan seems to have taken an indelible step towards demanding accountability for the Israel-Hamas war.

In an unprecedented event in the history of the World Court, often ridiculed for its glacial slowness, the prosecutor said there are reasonable grounds to believe that three of Hamas’s most senior leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In an international law career spanning decades, the British litigator of Pakistani origin has crafted a reputation as a gifted orator and a formidable prosecutor. Mr. Khan has partly credited his early interest in international human rights to his experience of doing voluntary work with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, a persecuted sect of Islam, of which he is a member. Before his stint at the ICC, Mr. Khan was a special adviser to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and served for both the defence and the prosecution at several international courts. He was involved in investigating war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia and Lebanon, and also led the UN team investigating crimes committed by the Islamic State terrorist group.

The 54-year-old has faced controversies throughout a career that included stints defending Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia who was convicted of war crimes in Sierra Leone. In 2007, Mr. Khan staged a dramatic walkout from the proceedings against the Liberian dictator following a dispute regarding the resources allotted to the defence. In another contentious case, in 2016, the ICC dropped crimes against humanity charges against his client Kenya’s President William Ruto after what was described as a “troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling”. A key witness in the case had been killed two years ago.

Also read: Debunked accounts of Hamas’s sexual crimes fuel debates over Israel’s war

Although Mr. Khan was not accused of any wrongdoing, he addressed the mistrial in an open letter before the ICC election detailing how he did everything possible to prevent witness intimidation. The prosecutor was originally not on the shortlist for the ICC role but was later included following discreet lobbying by British bureaucrats and Kenyan officials. The Kenyan government’s campaign for Mr. Khan’s candidacy was attributed to his trenchant defence of its Premier.

Pursuing accountability

Mr. Khan seems to be a man on a mission to establish the ICC’s legitimacy in pursuing accountability from heads of state without fear or favour. Responding swiftly to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he sought arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Kremlin official Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova last year over their alleged role in the deportation of Ukrainian children. This was followed by a second round of warrants against top Russian commanders over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Such a relentless pursuit ended up placing Mr. Khan on Russia’s wanted list in an act of retribution.

The decision to seek warrants against Israel’s leadership with staunch opposition from the U.S. and other Western states is a resounding retort to criticism that the Court is biased against African nations where so many of its cases have been focused. While U.S. President Joe Biden has called the move “outrageous”, a dozen Republican senators in April this year, penned a chilling letter “warning” Mr. Khan of consequences after reports began to circulate that such a decision was imminent. But the ICC prosecutor remains undeterred telling CNN that the decision is “not a witch hunt” but in accordance with what is expected from an independent Court.

Well aware of the political ramifications, Mr. Khan has disclosed a list of distinguished experts, two of them former judges, who have backed his claims. While acknowledging that “disinformation has been rife”, the experts have unanimously agreed that the prosecutor’s work has been fair and rigorous. Although it remains to be seen whether the evidence will withstand scrutiny in a courtroom, the English barrister is here to challenge the long-standing scepticism against the efficacy of international law.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks, at a celebration for Jewish American Heritage Month, in the Rose Garden at the White House, in Washington, U.S., May 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

U.S. President Joe Biden strongly defended Israel on Monday, May 21, 2024, saying Israeli forces are not committing genocide in their military campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza in a rejection of criticism from pro-Palestinian protesters.

Also read: ICC seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Palestine; charges Hamas chief for Oct. 7 attack

“What’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that,” Mr. Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.

Mr. Biden has faced protests at many of his events around the country from pro-Palestinian advocates who have labeled him “Genocide Joe” for his steadfast support for Israel.

In remarks at the White House event, Mr. Biden stressed his belief that Israel was the victim dating back to the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages.

He said U.S. support for the safety and security of Israelis is “ironclad.”

“We stand with Israel to take out (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar and the rest of the butchers of Hamas. We want Hamas defeated. We’re working with Israel to make that happen,” he said.

Negotiations have stalled between Israel and Hamas in trying to gain the freedom of sick, elderly and wounded hostages still held by the militants, but Biden vowed not to give up trying to gain their release.

“We’re going to get them home, we’re going to get ’em home, come hell or high water,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden has also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, something that he reiterated in his commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday.

Mr. Biden also rejected the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor for saying he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense chief over alleged war crimes

The ICC prosecutor on Monday also said he requested arrest warrants for Hamas chief Sinwar and two other Hamas leaders.

Mr. Biden in recent months has faced growing political pressure from his own party over his handling of the Gaza conflict, as the Palestinian death toll climbed to more than 35,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and Israel’s siege has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference.
| Photo Credit: AP

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan, on May 20 announced that he will be submitting applications to seek arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in connection with the prevailing situation in Palestine. Mr. Khan in his statement said that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for the war crimes and crimes against humanity “committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023”.

The prosecutor has also charged Yahya Sinwar (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail Haniyeh. The ICC has believes them to be “criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas (in particular its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades) and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages.”

In his statement, Mr. Khan said that “Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.”

Also read: A brief history of starvation as a ‘war crime’ | Explained

The International Court of Justice, a separate body is also investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused both international courts of bias.

Israel has instead accused Hamas of genocide over its October 7 attack that triggered the war. Militants stormed through army bases and farming communities across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive air, sea and ground offensive that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.

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Sudanese refugees who fled the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region and newly arrived ride their donkeys looking for space to temporarily settle, near the border between Sudan and Chad in Goungour, Chad. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“A series of attacks by Sudanese paramilitary forces in the western region of Darfur raise the possibility of “genocide” against non-Arab ethnic communities,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on May 9.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with allied militias, have been widely accused of ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes in their war with the regular Army, which began in April 2023.

“The war has killed tens of thousands, including up to 15,000 in the West Darfur town of El-Geneina,” according to UN experts.

The area is the focus of the 186-page HRW report “‘The Massalit Will Not Come Home’: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El-Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan.” It describes “an ethnic cleansing campaign against the ethnic Massalit and other non-Arab populations”.

From late April until early November of last year, the RSF and allied militias “conducted a systematic campaign to remove, including by killing, ethnic Massalit residents”, according to HRW.

The violence, which included atrocities such as mass torture, rape and looting, peaked in mid-June — when thousands were killed within days — and surged again in November.

Local human rights lawyers said they had tracked a pattern where fighters targeted “prominent members of the Massalit community”, including doctors, human rights defenders, local leaders and government officials.

HRW added that the attackers “methodically destroyed critical civilian infrastructure”, primarily in communities consisting of displaced Massalit.

Satellite imagery showed that since June, predominantly Massalit neighbourhoods in El-Geneina have been “systematically dismantled, many with bulldozers, preventing civilians who fled from returning to their homes”, HRW reported.

HRW said the attacks constitute “ethnic cleansing” as they appeared to be aimed at “at least having them permanently leave the region”.

The context of the killings further “raises the possibility that the RSF and their allies have the intent to destroy in whole or in part the Massalit in at least West Darfur, which would indicate that genocide has been and/or is being committed there”, it added.

‘Large-scale atrocities’

HRW called for an investigation into genocidal intent, targeted sanctions on those responsible and urged the United Nations to “widen the existing arms embargo on Darfur to cover all of Sudan”.

The International Criminal Court, currently investigating ethnic-based killings in Darfur, says it has “grounds to believe” that both the Paramilitaries and the Army are committing “Rome Statute crimes”, which include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

And in December, the United States said that Sudan’s rival forces have both committed war crimes in their brutal conflict, accusing the RSF of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

“More than half a million Sudanese have fled the violence from Darfur into Chad, according to the latest UN figures. By late October, 75% of those crossing the border were from El-Geneina,” HRW said.

Around 400 km (250 miles) east of El-Geneina, all eyes are currently on El-Fasher in North Darfur, the only state capital not under RSF control. The United States has warned of a disaster of “epic proportions” if the RSF proceeds with an expected attack, as residents fear the same fate of El-Geneina will befall them.

“As the UN Security Council and governments wake up to the looming disaster in El-Fasher, the large-scale atrocities committed in El-Geneina should be seen as a reminder of the atrocities that could come in the absence of concerted action,” said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan.

Washington:

The United States said Monday it opposed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Israel’s conduct in Gaza, amid reports that Israeli officials fear the Hague-based tribunal could soon issue arrest warrants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised the issue with US President Joe Biden in a call at the weekend.

“We’ve been really clear about the ICC investigation, that we don’t support it, we don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.

The New York Times quoted Israeli officials as saying that Netanyahu himself could be among those charged. The court was also weighing charges against leaders of Hamas, it said.

Jean-Pierre would not confirm a report by news outlet Axios that Netanyahu had asked Biden in their call Sunday to prevent the court from sending out warrants for Israeli officials.

“The primary focus of that call was obviously the hostage deal and getting to a ceasefire, getting humanitarian aid into Gaza,” she added.

The spokeswoman also declined to comment on reports that Washington had reached out to the ICC to warn that the issuing of any warrants could derail moves to reach the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

The ICC has not commented on the reports. But a series of Israeli officials has in recent days said any attempt by the court to take any action against Israel would be “outrageous.”

“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense,” Netanyahu said on X on Friday.

“While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression.”

Foreign minister Israel Katz said his country would “not bow our heads or be deterred” by the legal threat.

“If the warrants are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army) and provide a morale boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the axis of radical Islam led by Iran against which we are fighting,” Katz said over the weekend.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC.

But the ICC opened a probe in 2021 into Israel as well as Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups for possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has said the investigation now extends to hostilities since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.

The ICC is the world’s only independent court set up to probe the gravest offenses by individual suspects, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It has previously issued warrants for national leaders — most recently Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.

Although the prospects of actual arrest remain slim in such cases, warrants can make it difficult for leaders to travel abroad.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Israeli officials on April 29 appeared to be increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants against the country’s leaders, as international pressure mounts over its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and into Monday killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children, one of whom was just 5 days old, according to hospital records and an Associated Press reporter.

The ICC launched a probe three years ago into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, but it has given no indication such warrants are imminent. There was no comment from the court on April 29.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, on April 28, said that it had informed Israeli missions of “rumours” that warrants might be issued against senior political and military officials. It was not clear what sparked the Israeli concerns. “We expect the court to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, adding that such warrants would “provide a morale boost” to Hamas and other militant groups.

A series of Israeli announcements in recent days about allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza meanwhile appears to be aimed in part at heading off possible ICC action.

Netanyahu lashes out against ICC

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on April 26, said that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defence.”

“The threat to seize the soldiers and officials of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not bow to it,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. It was not clear what prompted the post.

The ICC investigation covers allegations going back to the 2014 war in Gaza as well as Israel’s construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territory that the Palestinians want for a future state.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said during a visit to the region in December that the investigation is “moving forward at pace, with rigour, with determination and with an insistence that we act not on emotion but on solid evidence.”

Neither Israel nor its close ally the United States accept the ICC’s jurisdiction, but any warrants could put Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries. They would also serve as a major rebuke of Israel’s actions.

The International Court of Justice, a separate body, is investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused both international courts of bias.

Israel’s massive offensive in Palestine

Israel has instead accused Hamas of genocide over its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Militants stormed through army bases and farming communities across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive air, sea and ground offensive that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas. The military says it has killed over 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.

Israel has vowed to expand its ground offensive to the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought shelter from fighting elsewhere. Israel says Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold, with thousands of fighters embedded there.

Biden talks to Netanyahu

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which has provided crucial military and political support for the offensive, has urged Israel not to invade Rafah over fears it could cause a humanitarian catastrophe, concerns he reiterated in a phone call with Mr. Netanyahu on April 28. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel on his latest visit to the region, which began in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are meanwhile pushing Israel and Hamas to accept an agreement they drafted that would free some of the hostages and bring about at least a temporary cease-fire. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of some 30 others after most of the rest were freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners last year.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an agreement to end the war. Netanyahu has rejected that demand, saying Israel will continue its offensive until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages are returned.

A file photo of Sudanese family who fled the conflict in Murnei in Sudan’s Darfur region. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Britain has circulated a draft United Nations (UN) resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in conflict-wracked Sudan ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins soon.

The draft, obtained on Wednesday (March 6) by The Associated Press, expresses “grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur.” With Ramadan expected to begin around Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, the council is expected to vote quickly on the resolution, likely on Friday.

Sudan plunged into chaos last April, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.

Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan’s western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African.

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Karim Khan said in late January there are grounds to believe both sides in the current conflict are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

Meanwhile, France’s UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said, “It would be a disgrace if we have a Ramadan truce in Sudan and no Ramadan truce in Gaza. We need both,” he said.

The United States vetoed a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza on February 20 that was supported by almost the entire 15-member Security Council.

The U.S. is negotiating on its own proposed Gaza resolution, with the latest draft calling for a cease-fire “of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages” as soon as Israel and Hamas agree. The draft makes no mention of Ramadan.

The latest draft on a Sudan cease-fire was circulated on the same day the head of the UN food agency warned that the Sudan conflict “risks triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis” as global attention is focussed on the Israel-Hamas war.

Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), said the conflict in Sudan has shattered the lives of millions and called for the warring parties to stop fighting and allow humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving assistance.

“According to that UN agency, 18 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines. They include five million who face starvation,” it said.

The proposed UN resolution calls on all parties to remove obstructions and allow “full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” including across Sudan’s borders and across conflict lines.

The draft also urges strengthened coordination of several regional and international efforts “to facilitate an end to the conflict and to restore a lasting inclusive civilian-led democratic transition.”

UN experts said in a report obtained by AP on March 1 that fighters for the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias carried out widespread ethnic killings and rapes while taking control of much of Darfur that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report to the Security Council painted a horrifying picture of the brutality of the Arab-dominated RSF against Africans in Darfur. It also detailed how the force succeeded in gaining control of four out of Darfur’s five states, including through complex financial networks that involve dozens of companies.

Armenian lawmakers attend the session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct. 3, 2023. The Armenian parliament on Oct. 3 voted to join the International Criminal Court.
| Photo Credit: AP

Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan approved the parliament’s decision to join the International Criminal Court in a move that has further strained the country’s ties with its old ally Russia.

Last week, Armenia’s parliament voted to join the ICC by ratifying the Rome Statute that created the tribunal.

Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute are bound to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was indicted for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine, if he sets foot on their soil.

Moscow last month called Yerevan’s decision an “unfriendly step,” and the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s ambassador. Armenia later sought to assure Russia that Putin would not be arrested if he entered the country.

Armenian officials have argued the move has nothing to do with Russia and was prompted by what they call Azerbaijan’s aggression against the country.

Lawmakers voted to ratify the Rome Statute by a vote of 60-22. The decision comes into force 60 days after the ratification, according to Armenian lawmakers.

Armenia had started the process of joining the tribunal more than 20 years ago, but in 2004 the Constitutional Court ruled that the Rome Statute contradicted the country’s constitution at the time, putting the process on pause. The constitution has been amended twice since then. In March, the Constitutional Court ruled that the obligations for signatories outlined by the Rome Statute are in line with the existing constitution.

Armenia’s envoy on international legal matters, Yegishe Kirakosyan, said Yerevan decided to resume the process of joining the ICC because of Azerbaijan’s alleged moves against Armenia. Last month, Azerbaijan routed the ethnic Armenian separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and recaptured the enclave.

Last year, a Dutch intelligence agency said it had foiled a sophisticated attempt by a Russian spy using a false Brazilian identity. (File)
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The International Criminal Court said Tuesday that it detected “anomalous activity affecting its information systems” last week and took urgent measures to respond. It didn’t elaborate on what it called a “cybersecurity incident.”

Court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said in a written statement that extra “response and security measures are now ongoing” with the assistance of authorities in the Netherlands, where the court is based.

“Looking forward, the Court will be building on existing work presently underway to strengthen its cyber security framework, including accelerating its use of cloud technology,” his statement added.

The court declined to go into any more detail about the incident, but said that as it “continues to analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident, priority is also being given to ensuring that the core work of the Court continues.”

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The ICC has a number of high-profile investigations and preliminary inquiries underway in nations around the world and has in the past been the target of espionage.

Last year, a Dutch intelligence agency said it had foiled a sophisticated attempt by a Russian spy using a false Brazilian identity to work as an intern at the court, which is investigating allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and has issued a war crimes arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

In a written response to a request for comment, the Dutch foreign ministry said: “Any malicious activities that undermine the Court’s cybersecurity or interfere with its ability to fulfill its mandate in a safe and secure manner are of utmost concern to us. The Netherlands will continue to assist the ICC in addressing the incident.”