KUALA LUMPUR – A local non-governmental organisation is spearheading an effort to bring alleged Israeli war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.
In a press conference, Palestinian ambassador to Malaysia, Walid Abu Ali, said the case to be brought by the MyAqsa Foundation is the first to be undertaken since Israeli forces began bombarding Gaza on October 7.
“Together between MyAqsa and the embassy, we coordinate, cooperate and try to do whatever we can do on behalf of Palestine and the Palestinians who are suffering,” he said.
“MyAqsa has done a great job in collecting all evidence that they can. The case was also dealt with seriously by the Malaysian government.”
He added that the discussions surrounding the case were also brought up by the Malaysian government during a recent Organisation of Islamic Countries meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Walid also said the embassy in Malaysia is fully supporting MyAqsa’s efforts to bring the case to the ICC.
Meanwhile, co-chair MyAqsa legal team Lukman Sheriff Alias said their team and the Palestinian embassy would work together to submit evidence of war crimes committed by Israel to the ICC prosecutor’s office by the end of this month.
“Our legal team will meet with the ICC prosecutor in The Hague to provide the prepared dossier of evidence, in hopes of expediting legal action against the tyranny of the Israeli Zionist regime.”
“The acts of the Israeli Zionist Regime to employ the use of artillery-fired white phosphorus in military operations in the most densely populated areas in the world, Gaza and Lebanon, is also a self-evident war crime under the Rome Statute and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
He added that although MyAqsa is an NGO, and not a nation, the ICC prosecutors are open to receiving evidence of war crimes.
“They have opened a platform and direct platform to provide the evidence to the prosecutors.”
The current death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 9,061, including 3,760 children and 2,326 women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. – November 3, 2023