Former Telecoms Minister Issam Naaman with leaders of the Qana Observatory for Human Rights, at the Press Union headquarters in Beirut, Jan. 31, 2024. (Credit: Raphaël Abdelnour/L'Orient-Le Jour)
A legal memorandum “on the situation in Gaza and occupied Palestine” against Israel will be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the next few days, the Qana Observatory for Human Rights, a Lebanese NGO, said on Wednesday. The announcement was made during a press conference at the headquarters of the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut.
The document lists “the crimes that have been committed by the Zionists” against the Palestinians since 1948, when the State of Israel was created. It also denounces France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The 30-page memo was drafted in Arabic and then translated into French and English. It will be sent to the ICC’s chief prosecutor “within two or three days,” Mohammad Tay, President of the Qana Observatory, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
Qualifying Israel’s crimes
“We will be sending this memorandum to the International Criminal Court, as well as to countries that are involved in this cause, such as South Africa,” Tay said at the press conference.
“Our approach is to add a qualitative element to what is happening in Gaza, to describe exactly the crimes committed by Israel,” he added. “We have irrefutable proof that these crimes are being committed intentionally, with the aim of eliminating the Palestinian people.”
Following a complaint lodged by South Africa against Israel under the United Nations Convention on Genocide, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Tel Aviv to prevent any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza and to “take all possible measures” to this end. Israel, which denies the allegations, has also been ordered to provide a report on all the measures taken within one month.
No tools for the ICC and ICJ
“The problem is that the ICJ and the ICC do not have the tools to implement their decisions. They only have political weight and an echo,” said former Telecoms Minister Issam Naaman, who also attended the press conference. “And even if the Security Council adopts a resolution along our lines, the United States will veto it,” he said.
What is the aim of this initiative? “To campaign for a change in international law, so that the courts have tools at their disposal,” said Naaman.
In its memo, the Qana Observatory claims that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and crimes of elimination of a country,” and accuses the Western powers cited of “participating” in these crimes through their support for Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described South Africa’s accusations of “genocide” in Gaza as “outrageous,” following the ICJ ruling on Friday.
The UN Security Council is due to meet this Wednesday to consider the ICJ’s decision. Since Oct. 7, the Security Council, which has long been deeply divided over the Israeli-Palestinian file, has only been able to agree on a resolution twice, with many drafts being rejected either because of US, Russian or Chinese vetoes, or because of an insufficient number of votes.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translated by Joelle El Khoury.