INTERVIEW - ‘Total conviction’: Chilean lawyers confident of success in ICC appeal against Israel

By Semir Sejfovic

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - After months of inflicting death and destruction on the Gaza Strip, Israel is facing growing international pressure over its brutal actions and, more importantly, the threat of legal repercussions.

South Africa’s case against Israel is being heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses it of genocide and violations of the UN Genocide Convention with its actions in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

The South African side is requesting an injunction by the top UN court to halt Israel’s military assault on Gaza, which has dragged on for more than three months, with the death toll rising to over 23,000 and nearly 60,000 people injured.

Apart from the case at ICJ, which solely focuses on legal disputes between states, separate complaints have been filed against Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that is also located in The Hague and has the mandate to try individuals in criminal cases.

One of the complaints before the ICC has come from a group of some 100 lawyers from Chile, who are seeking action against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials for “genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

“There is no room for impunity. Considering the atrocities committed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other specific members (of the Israeli government) should be punished,” Nelson Hadad, a former Chilean ambassador and representative of the group, told Anadolu.

Israel, all through its history, has blatantly flouted international laws, refusing to comply with UN resolutions, be the Security Council or the General Assembly, he said.

“Why do they have the license to kill other people? This is the reason we filed the action before the CPI (International Criminal Court). To bring them to justice, to apply universal justice, penal justice and for them to be punished,” he said.

“We are also seeking compensation for the victims … It’s a massacre, really, and all the world is a witness to this massacre. That is the best evidence.”

- ‘Netanyahu is a child killer’

The application calls for an investigation focusing on Netanyahu, his War Cabinet and Herzi Halevi, the head of the Israeli military.

It calls for them to be tried as “masterminds of the crimes indicated in the Rome Statute, i.e. genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Rodolfo Marcone-Lo Presti, a lawyer and professor, told Anadolu.

“They are acting in criminal conspiracy,” he added.

Elaborating on the charges, Hadad said the campaign against Gaza carried out by Netanyahu and his ministers is a bid “to eliminate and to destroy the national identity of Palestinian people in order to eradicate them from the land by killing them.”

Israel also flouts international law by keeping thousands of Palestinians in jail without trial, under administrative detention that is illegal under international law, he said.

“Even during World War II, we never saw these kinds of atrocities. It’s out of mind. It’s out of limit. No morals, no ethics. They’ve crossed all lines,” he said.

“Thousands of children have been killed, thousands of women are killed. Netanyahu is now a child killer. This is against the civilians of Palestine, as they (Israel) don’t differentiate between fighters and civilians.”

- A united front

He stressed the need to increase pressure on Israel to stop its brutalities, hailing South Africa’s demand for the ICJ to enforce provisional measures.

“The first measure should be a cease-fire in order to avoid more killings. Otherwise, Netanyahu has said the military action will last for six more months. Can you imagine the quantity of more killings? It is insane. Absolutely insane,” said Hadad.

He said countries in Latin America also have a unified stance when it comes to the demand for “criminal action against Israel.”

“For example, now we are forming a Latin American front, from Colombia, from Brazil, from Peru, Bolivia, all these countries,” he said.

“If not the governments, it will be, at least, lawyers. We are in contact as lawyers. Civilian, independent lawyers are part of this, and we are looking to apply universal justice to Israel.”

Hadad emphasized that he has “total conviction” of success in measures to stop Israel’s brutal assault on Palestinians.

“The evidence is so clear. It’s not a matter of discussion, really,” he said.

“It is too much. It is unacceptable, and we are appealing to the moral conscience of humanity.”