Palestinian president urges ICC prosecutor to expedite probe into Israel's war crimes

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday urged International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan to expedite looking into Israel’s war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

Abbas made the request while meeting with Khan on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, during which they discussed developments in the Palestinian territories, especially Israel’s ongoing devastating onslaught against Gaza, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Abbas told Khan that "impunity means encouraging the Israeli occupation to continue committing its crimes against the Palestinian people, who have suffered 76 years of injustice, oppression, apartheid and ethnic cleansing."

He also stressed the need for action by the international community and the legal organizations of the United Nations to oblige Israel, as the occupying power, to implement the UN resolutions demanding to end its war and decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories.

On May 20 this year, Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and more than 95,500 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar