The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over potential war crimes carried out by Hamas in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member state, the ICC's top prosecutor told Reuters on Thursday.
"If there is evidence that Palestinians, whether they're Hamas or Al Quds Brigades or the armed wing of Hamas or any other person or any other national of any other state party, has committed crimes. Yes, we have jurisdiction wherever they're committed, including on the territory of Israel," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said.
Khan said the images of the Hamas attack on Israel and images of the aftermath of Israeli air strikes in Gaza are "heartbreaking".
"It's horrendous what's going on, what we're seeing on our television screens. There has to be a legal process to determine criminal responsibility," he told Reuters.
"One doesn't need to be the prosecutor of the ICC. Any human being's heart must be chilled and frozen and heartbroken at seeing the pictures that are coming out of Israel and Palestine these last few days," he added.
The ICC has previously launched a probe into alleged Israeli “war crimes” against Palestinian Arabs. The court’s previous chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced in late 2019 that she intends to open a full investigation into alleged Israeli “war crimes”.
Before opening a full probe, asked the ICC to rule on the territory over which it has jurisdiction because of the "unique and highly contested legal and factual issues attaching to this situation."
She subsequently ruled that “Palestine” is a state and the ICC has jurisdiction involving its cases.
Khan’s election as Bensouda’s successor in February of 2021 came exactly one week after the ICC ruled that Judea, Samaria, Gaza and eastern Jerusalem are within its jurisdiction, paving the way for a probe.
Khan has yet to taken any public action on the probe, but in December of last year he said that he has a "goal" to make "a visit to Palestine" in 2023.