Hamas attack, Israeli response fall under ICC jurisdiction-prosecutor
International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over potential war crimes carried out by Hamas militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member state, the ICC's top prosecutor told Reuters on Thursday.
The occupied Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC, meaning the court has the authority to prosecute Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza.
«If there is evidence that Palestinians, whether they're Hamas or Al Quds Brigades or the armed wing of Hamas or any other person or any other national of any other state party, has committed crimes. Yes, we have jurisdiction wherever they're committed, including on the territory of Israel,» ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in an interview.
In his first comments since Hamas launched brutal attacks on Israel on Saturday and Israel responded with devastating bombings of the Gaza Strip, he said the images are «heartbreaking».
«It's horrendous what's going on, what we're seeing on our television screens. There has to be a legal process to determine criminal responsibility,» he said.
«One doesn't need to be the prosecutor of the ICC. Any human being's heart must be chilled and frozen and heartbroken at seeing the pictures that are coming out of Israel and Palestine these last few days,» he said.
A court of last resort, the ICC prosecutes individuals for alleged criminal conduct when its 123 member states are unwilling or unable to prosecute themselves.
Many of the world's major powers are not members, including China, the United States, Russia, India and Egypt. Even if the ICC
