GAZAN MAN REPORTS HAMAS TO ICC FOR WAR CRIMES

A Gazan man has finally done what the international crowd never quite managed. He’s suing Hamas for war crimes and crimes against humanity against their own people.

A team of international lawyers is taking the case to the International Criminal Court. They represent a brave Palestinian civilian from Gaza who lost his wife, children and other family members in the fighting. The submission argues that if Hamas hadn’t used the population as human shields and committed the rest of their usual catalogue of crimes, those family members and countless other Palestinians would still be alive.

One of the lawyers, Elliot Mallin, put it plainly on X: “These crimes include numerous crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Hamas against the Palestinian people. Notably including the war crime of utilizing the presence of civilians or other protected persons as human shields. There has never been a demonstration that the Palestinian’s are willing and able to investigate Hamas for these crimes. Hamas’ purposeful conduct in Gaza has greatly exacerbated the harm against Palestinian civilians. The unnecessary suffering of the Palestinian people must be accounted for and the ICC cannot claim to care about justice if it remains silent on these crimes.”

He’s joined by Eli Rosenbaum, a former senior US Justice Department war crimes prosecutor, and French attorney Sarah Scialom. The 40-page filing names 14 Hamas leaders and asks the ICC to investigate them with a view to issuing arrest warrants.

The war crimes listed include using civilians as human shields, attacking civilians, deliberately hitting civilian objects, willfully causing great suffering, destroying and stealing property, excessive incidental death and injury, attacking protected objects, outrages upon personal dignity, recruiting children, and sentencing or executing people without due process. The crimes against humanity include murder, extermination, torture and persecution.

The named Hamas figures are Izz Adin Al Hadad (recently taken out by the IDF), Khaled Mashaal, Mahmoud al-Zahar, Mohammed Odeh, Muhannad Rajab, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzook, Ghazi Hamad, Izzat al-Rishq, Fathi Hamad, Nizar Awadallah, Husam Badran, Zaher Jabarin and Basem Naim. All of them are accused of violating the 1949 Geneva Conventions.