THE HAGUE: The Palestinian Authority´s foreign minister on Thursday said Israel´s offensive in Gaza was a “war of revenge”, as he called for a ceasefire in the conflict.
The visit of Riyad al-Maliki to the Hague comes as Israel said a column of tanks and infantry launched an overnight raid into Hamas-controlled Gaza, striking “numerous” targets. Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
They are still believed to be holding more than 200 hostages. Since the Hamas attack, Gaza´s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israel´s relentless retaliatory bombardments, mostly civilians and many of them children.
“This time the war that Israel is waging is different. This time... it´s a war of revenge,” Maliki said in The Hague. “First we need to end this one-sided aggression and then we need to call for a ceasefire.”
He told reporters at a press conference at the Palestinian Authority´s mission to The Hague that “a ceasefire is essential... for the distribution of humanitarian aid”. Maliki flew into the Dutch city on Wednesday, and met top officials at the International Criminal Court including its chief prosecutor Karim Khan.
“The situation in Gaza is so dangerous now that it needs immediate intervention by the (ICC) prosecutor,” Maliki said. He said the Palestinian Authority was “working with the ICC prosecutor” and providing the court “with all information to take action.”
Maliki said the Palestinians made a second submission to the UN´s highest International Court of Justice, which is also based in The Hague. The UN´s general Assembly has asked the ICJ´s judges for an advisory opinion on occupation in Palestine.
Chief prosecutor Khan´s office said earlier this month it was “continuously gathering information” in support of its probe into the Palestinian situation. It opened a formal investigation in 2021 into the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, including alleged crimes by Israeli forces and by Hamas and Palestinian armed groups.
The prosecutor´s office “put in place a dedicated team to advance the investigation in relation to the situation in the State of Palestine, the first time a fully resourced team had been established in relation to this situation,” it said.
Set up in 2002, the ICC´s is the only global independent tribunal to probe the world´s worst crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Palestine signed up to the court´s founding Rome Statute in 2015. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, has refused to cooperate with the probe or recognise its jurisdiction.