The Hague: Families of Israeli hostages call on ICC to prosecute Hamas
Relatives of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip traveled to The Hague on Wednesday, February 14, to the headquarters of the International Criminal Court. The organizations Forum of Hostages' Families and the Raoul Wallenberg Center submitted a document to the prosecutor's office accusing Hamas of "crimes against humanity."
Relatives of Israeli hostages in front of the ICC in The Hague, February 14, 2024. AP - Martin Meissner
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Hundreds of hostage relatives from Israel gathered in front of the ICC on Wednesday, where they were joined by demonstrators, many carrying Israeli flags and photos of hostages, and chanting "
Bring them back now !
".
Images of the
October 7 attacks
on Israeli territory were projected on screens. And it was under the gusts and the rain that some relatives expressed their pain, reports our correspondent in The Hague,
Stéphanie Maupas
. They recounted the day during which armed Palestinian militants killed more than a thousand people and took 250 hostages. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held.
“Give justice to the hostages and their families”
Just after her visit to the prosecutor's office, Shelly Aviv Yeini, chief lawyer of the Hostage Families Forum, spoke about the crimes of October 7, speaking of genocide and crimes against humanity: "
Such acts cannot and must not go unpunished. The perpetrators of these acts should be held criminally responsible for the atrocities they committed. We are convinced that the ICC has the capacity to bring justice to the hostages and their families. The Prosecutor's visit to Israel reinforced our confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the Court.
»
Prosecutor Karim Khan
went to Israel at the beginning of December
, at the request of the families of the hostages. A visit considered “private” by the Hebrew State, which refuses to recognize the Court. And no authority was present for this visit to The Hague.
The ICC, described as anti-Semitic by Benyamin Netanyahu
The ICC was established in 2002 as an independent international tribunal to examine and prosecute charges of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression. In 2021, it opened investigations into
possible war crimes
carried out in the Palestinian territories by both Israel and Hamas, which were extended to acts committed since the October 7 attack. Benyamin Netanyahu then
described the ICC as anti-Semitic
. ICC investigators have not been allowed to enter Gaza or investigate in Israel, which is not a member of the court.
Read alsoPalestinian territories: “a long and complicated investigation” begins for the ICC
The families of hostages continue to put pressure on the Israeli authorities for the release of their loved ones, whose fate has haunted society for more than four months.
A truce at the end of November between Hamas and Israel, which is carrying out military operations in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 attack, allowed the release of around a hundred people, in exchange for the release of detained Palestinian prisoners. .
Also read Israel-Hamas War: four months later, a fragile Israeli unity
(and with
AFP)
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