Israel eligible to be tried for crimes, but ICC relunctant: Ex-UN official

Israel and its leaders must face accountability for their crimes in Gaza, but the current prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) seems determined not to do that at the moment, according to a former UN special rapporteur.

“It’s important to stress that the Israeli leadership, Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, his war Cabinet, and many members of the Israeli army are responsible for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and, possibly, the crime of genocide,” Dugard told Anadolu in an interview.

“They must be held accountable for these crimes.”

Dugard stressed that the ICC is the primary institution that “should be used to hold Israelis responsible for their crimes” in the Gaza, where Israeli attacks have now killed almost 18,800 Palestinians and wounded nearly 51,000 more.

“Unfortunately, at present, it (ICC) is not being used. The prosecutor of the ICC seems determined not to prosecute Israel and its leaders,” he said.

The current ICC prosecutor is Karim Khan, who has recently faced backlash for accepting an Israeli invitation to see Israeli areas attacked by Hamas on October 7, while not being allowed to visit Gaza.

The ICC has received multiple cases against Israel for its devastating assault on Gaza, including referrals from countries such as South Africa and groups of lawyers.

The ceasefire question

Dugard said there is a pressing need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but the international community has not been able to play its due role.

He pointed to the US position on the matter and its repeated veto of resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

If the UN Security Council decides there should be a ceasefire, “that will bring the war to an end very quickly,” he said.

“But I fear that the US will veto any resolution and that the ceasefire will not be ordered by the Security Council,” he added.

Dugard, who served as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, also pointed to the possibility that Israel could simply ignore any move for a ceasefire.

“The difficulty is that even if the Security Council does order a ceasefire, there’s no indication that Israel will accept such an instruction and order from the Security Council,” he told Anadolu on the sidelines of the TRT World Forum recently held in Istanbul.

“Again, it would depend very much upon the US, UK and Western powers, whether they can force Israel to accept a ceasefire, to carry out a ceasefire and to bring peace to the region.”