The outspoken Italian human rights lawyer, Francesca Albanese, accuses British politicians of genocide denial and urges the EU to cut trade ties with Israel
Middle East Eye
Part 1
United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has doubled down on her criticism of Israel and world leaders for failing to stop the "colonial erasure" of Palestinians in Gaza, and called for more arrest warrants to be issued for Israeli leaders over suspected war crimes.
In a wide-ranging interview with Middle East Eye, Albanese accused the British foreign secretary of being a "genocide denier," called on Europe to halt trade with Israel, and denounced the delay by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over Gaza atrocities.
Albanese said the prosecutor of the Hague-based court was already late in applying for warrants in May of this year.
In a wide-ranging interview with Middle East Eye, Albanese accused the British foreign secretary of being a "genocide denier," called on Europe to halt trade with Israel, and denounced the delay by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over Gaza atrocities.
Albanese said the prosecutor of the Hague-based court was already late in applying for warrants in May of this year.
"The International Criminal Court should have acted much earlier," she said, referring to the investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Palestine opened by the ICC in 2021 in a case that started over a decade ago.
In his request six months ago, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister at the time Yoav Gallant. He also requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohamed Deif, all of whom have been killed by Israel over the past year.
In his request six months ago, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister at the time Yoav Gallant. He also requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohamed Deif, all of whom have been killed by Israel over the past year.
"We should have seen these people before the International Criminal Court … This is what justice is about. Instead, they were killed," she said, adding that the ICC should seek more arrest warrants.
"There should be more in the dock, in my view. And it's taking ages. This is because the political pressure on the international justice system is extreme.
"And we see pressure on the prosecutor, pressure on the judges. Israel is trying to obstruct it by moving exceptions against the independence of the judges. And the US is making pressure through open threats," she added.
"There should be more in the dock, in my view. And it's taking ages. This is because the political pressure on the international justice system is extreme.
"And we see pressure on the prosecutor, pressure on the judges. Israel is trying to obstruct it by moving exceptions against the independence of the judges. And the US is making pressure through open threats," she added.
Source, links:
Comments
Post a Comment