crime

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) submitted evidence against 40 Israeli military personnel who are believed to have been at the forefront of war crime operations in the West Bank and Gaza to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor. 

Founded by famous Saudi activist Jamal Khashoggi prior to his assassination in 2018, DAWN does what it says on the tin: advocating for democracy and human rights for all in Arab states.

On the Washington-based organisation’s website, it was written on December 20 that, “DAWN submitted to ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC the list of 40 Israeli military commanders who have taken part in, or who have direct command responsibility over operations that likely comprise indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on civilians, the use of starvation as a weapon, blocking humanitarian aid, and the imposition of the siege on Gaza.  

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“DAWN submitted this information in response to the Prosecutor’s November 17 call for parties to present to his office information relevant to its investigation team’s ongoing probe into violations of the Rome Statute in Palestine, including the current war in Gaza.” 

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The rights group also concluded that Israeli forces were present in the Gaza Strip from October 8 to November 13, cutting off food and water amongst other essentials, commonly referred to as using starvation as a weapon of war, to the enclave’s 2.2 million strong community as well as shelling the territory during that five-week period. Furthermore, they noted that Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant order a total siege on October 9. 

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As of December 28, 21,423 Gazans have been killed since early October and Israeli strikes have also caused the displacement of around 1.6 million people. 

To some extent, pressure has intensified on Israel as numerous countries and human rights organisations worldwide have called on The Hague to investigate their copious collection of war crimes. 

In the past few years, Israel stated that it did not recognise the ICC’s authority of the tribunal. Back in 2021, the court had planned to investigate the state for war crimes committed in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. 

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DAWN

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