The head prosecutor at the International Criminal Court Karim Khan is pushing back against Israel’s attempts to stop an investigation into the Gaza conflict. He filed a response on Monday arguing that the court does have jurisdiction. This is after Israel appealed the court’s authority to look into things. This all started after the court issued arrest warrants last year for several people including the Israeli Prime Minister and a Hamas leader both accused of crimes against humanity during the conflict.
Israel is arguing the ICC doesn’t have the right to investigate but the prosecutor is saying they do. His filing is a direct response to Israel’s challenge of the arrest warrants. Those warrants which came out last year named people on both sides of the war including the Prime Minister of Israel a former defense minister and a Hamas military leader. The allegations of crimes against humanity all relate to actions taken during the 13 month conflict in Gaza.
The prosecutor’s main goal is to keep the investigation moving ahead. He’s clearly showing that the ICC believes it has the power to look into possible war crimes even when countries try to challenge its authority. The main question is whether the ICC can prosecute individuals when their own countries don’t think the court has the right to do so.