ICC Prosecutor Says Israel Hasn't Tried to Probe Gaza War Crime Allegations

After International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan brought allegations of war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel could have probed the accusations itself, Khan told Reuters in a Thursday interview—but it has made "no real effort" to do so.

The conversation took place a day after Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire and hostage deal that is expected to go into effect on Sunday, though Israeli airstrikes in the besieged Gaza strip have continued since the deal was announced.

Khan sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the directing of attacks against civilians. The warrants were granted by ICC judges in November. Israel rejects the charges.

Khan also successfully sought an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, who he accused of crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, and rape.

Khan told Reuters that "we're here as a court of last resort and... as we speak right now, we haven't seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence, which is investigations regarding the same suspects for the same conduct."

Khan added that an Israeli investigation could have led to the case being send to Israeli courts under what are called complementary principles. It's possible for Israel to demonstrate its willingness to investigate, even after warrants were issued, Khan told Reuters.

However, "the question is have those judges, have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinize the allegations that we've seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was 'no'," he said.

Khan said he still felt firm in his decision regarding the arrest warrants despite the fact the U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) to protest the warrants.

The ICC is an international body with 125 member countries—a list that does not include the United States or Israel—that seeks to investigate and prosecute grave offenses such as war crimes and genocide.

The Republican-controlled House passed the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," with the help of 45 Democrats, which would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies," including Israel.

Passage in the House sets the bill up for likely enactment, given Republican support for the measure and GOP control of both the Senate and the White House.

Khan told Reuters that the threat of sanctions against the ICC “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned.”