ON Monday, after weeks of deafening silence, International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan finally issued a statement that “the Palestine investigation has always been, and remains, a very important investigation in the ICC”.

Khan was referring to the investigation into the situation in Palestine which was announced by his predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, on March 3, 2021. This followed the decision of the ICC’s pre-trial chamber on February 5, 2021 that the ICC could exercise its criminal jurisdiction over the situation in Palestine.

It was also decided, by majority, that the territorial scope of the jurisdiction extended to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In his statement, Khan called on state parties to the ICC and non-state parties “to help collectively vindicate principles of customary international law and also principles of the Rome Statute, [and] to share evidence regarding any allegations or any crimes” so that his office could properly investigate and prosecute “any person with their finger on the trigger of a gun or controls a missile”.

So now is the time to share evidence of allegations of crimes in Palestine – not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

A secure portal has already been created for citizens around the world to send information to Khan’s office.

Kudos therefore to MyAQSA Foundation for collaborating with the Palestinian government and the Palestinian embassy in Malaysia and compiling the evidence as part of an extensive dossier on war crimes committed by Israel.

According to co-chairman Lukman Sheriff Alias, MyAQSA legal team would meet up with the ICC prosecutor in The Hague, the Netherlands later this month.

It’s time to not just shout of war crimes in Palestine. – November 4, 2023.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.