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A general view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) building in The Hague, Netherlands on April 30, 2024 [Selman Aksünger/Anadolu Agency]
The Hague Initiative, an independent human rights organisation based in the Netherlands have issued an international call for lawyers and legal professionals to join in a collective global effort to defend the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement issued on Thursday, the group declared its full support for justice for the victims of genocide in Palestine and called for lawyers and legal professionals to join a vigil in front of the ICC in The Hague on Friday 24 October. The statement said those who were unable to attend the gathering in The Hague should hold parallel gatherings before their courts and bar associations in their respective countries.
The Hague Initiative declared full support for justice for the victims of genocide in Palestine and unwavering endorsement of the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We refuse to remain silent in the face of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank;” the statement read.
They further called for: the removal of all obstacles and threats so that the ICC would be enabled to carry out its mandate freely and without any political interference; an immediate end to all sanctions imposed on the Court or its Prosecutor; the issuance of arrest warrants for all political and military officials responsible for committing war crimes in Palestine; and the unhindered and unconditional delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
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Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Reactions to the Gaza ceasefire deal signal that European leaders are more interested in advancing neocolonial projects than seeing peace in Palestine.
European government leaders were quick to comment on the recently announced ceasefire deal for Gaza – but their enthusiasm seemed directed less toward a possible respite for the people of Palestine after two years of genocide, and more toward a new opportunity to ingratiate themselves with US President Donald Trump. Early statements overflowed with compliments for the US administration, accompanied by brief acknowledgments of other participants in the negotiations, before moving to promises of what Europe intends to do next.
“The European Union will continue to support the swift and safe delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media. “And when the time comes, we will be ready to help with recovery and reconstruction.” In her remarks, von der Leyen made no mention of the fact that the EU had failed to take decisive action to ensure the delivery of food and medicine to Gaza throughout Israel’s genocide, or that EU member states continued to ship weapons to the occupation power, thus directly contributing to the destruction she now presumably wants to help Gaza recover from.
Similar statements could be found across communication channels of French, British, and other European officials. Some of the most remarkable reactions, however, came from Italy, whose government representatives had previously described President Trump’s plan for Gaza as the only achievable one and poured praise on his diplomatic skills. The same officials had criticized Italian activists who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the sea blockade of the Strip and deliver essential supplies, failing to protect them from an Israeli terrorist attack and kidnapping in international waters.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Italy “is ready to contribute to the stabilization, reconstruction, and development of Gaza,” while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani posted videos showing Gazans waving Italian flags alongside Palestinian ones, apparently mistaking their recognition of Italian workers and students – who organized two general strikes and mass demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine, bringing inspiration to the whole region – for gratitude toward the Meloni administration itself.
In reality, Italy’s far-right government has continuously backed Israel throughout the genocide and shipped substantial quantities of weapons to the occupation forces. For this reason, Meloni, Tajani, and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, along with arms manufacturer Leonardo’s CEO Roberto Cingolani, were recently reported to the International Criminal Court for suspicion of complicity in crimes against humanity.
Reactions from the left were more skeptical of what lies ahead. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) commented: “After so many deaths and months of genocide, a ceasefire could take place in Gaza. How could one not rejoice at this? […] But once again, the Palestinians will have to endure a new foreign political order. And can one really believe Trump? From our continent, let us lend lucid and vigilant support to the ceasefire while remaining attentive and mobilized.”
Progressive politicians in Europe also criticized the EU’s enthusiasm to define Gaza’s political future. Marc Botenga, MEP for the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA), warned: “The EU needs to pressure Israel to respect the ceasefire, lift the humanitarian blockade, withdraw from the Gaza Strip and other occupied Palestinian territory.” Reacting to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, who suggested that the bloc should have a seat at the table while the management of Gaza is discussed, Botenga added: “Europe should stand for Palestinian self-determination instead of fighting to be part of a neocolonial administration.”
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A general view of the ships, anchored in a bay off the coast of Italy, while the Global Sumud Flotilla continues its preparations for departure towards Greece’s Crete, on September 16, 2025. [Niccolo Celesti – Anadolu Agency]
The Global Sumud Flotilla announced Wednesday that its legal team will take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) after repeated drone assaults on its vessels bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports.
Abdelhaq Benqadi, a Moroccan lawyer representing the Arab Lawyers Union aboard the mission, said the team is compiling evidence of “war crimes at sea,” including the types and numbers of drones used, electronic jamming, the munitions deployed, and the resulting damage.
He noted that a comprehensive report will be submitted to The Hague.
Organizers earlier reported 12 blasts hitting nine ships in international waters after drones repeatedly targeted the flotilla. While the group did not attribute responsibility, Israel – which has threatened to block the mission from reaching Gaza – has not commented.
“This is a full-fledged war crime, and the ICC must act,” Benqadi wrote in a post on the US social media company Facebook.
Israel has a record of intercepting aid vessels bound for Gaza, seizing ships and deporting activists in actions widely condemned as piracy.
The case comes as Israel already faces mounting legal scrutiny. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing South Africa’s genocide case over Gaza, where more than 65,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in a brutal offensive since October 2023.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The current flotilla, carrying humanitarian supplies including medical aid, is among the largest ever to sail for Gaza, with nearly 50 ships attempting to break Israel’s 18-year blockade on the enclave’s 2.4 million residents.
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Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAVote Labour for Genocide.
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A general view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) building in The Hague, Netherlands on April 30, 2024. [Selman Aksünger – Anadolu Agency]
The US sanctioned four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials Wednesday, including a judge who authorized the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Anadolu reports.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Nicolas Yann Guillou, Nazhat Shameem Khan, Mame Mandiaye Niang and Kimberly Prost to the Specially Designated Nationals list.
The State Department said Guillou was sanctioned for authorizing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, while Prost faced penalties for approving investigations into US personnel in Afghanistan.
Guillou, a French jurist, serves on the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I that issued the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024. The warrants accuse both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Deputy prosecutors Khan and Niang were designated for “continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel,” including upholding the warrants targeting Israeli leadership since assuming prosecutor office leadership.
The State Department said sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14203, which targets “malign efforts by the ICC” and aims to impose consequences on those engaged in “transgressions against the United States and Israel.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the four officials and the court of efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.”
“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” he said in a statement, labeling the court as national security threat to Washington and Tel Aviv.
All property and interests of sanctioned individuals in the US or controlled by US persons are now blocked. Entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also sanctioned.
The OFAC also published a General License authorizing the winding down of existing transactions with sanctioned individuals until 12.01 a.m. EDT (0401GMT) on Sept. 19. But payments must be made into blocked interest-bearing accounts in the US, preventing those who are sanctioned from accessing funds.
The sanctions came amid an escalation between the US and the ICC, which Washington has not joined. In February, the Trump administration sanctioned the ICC and Prosecutor Karim Khan, accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, devastating the enclave which faces famine. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.Vote Labour for Genocide.
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Luis Moreno-Ocampo, former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court [Ralph Alswang/FlickR]
Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Luis Moreno Ocampo has rejected the “terror” accusations levelled by Israel against Al- Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and his team as pretext to assassinate them in a targeted airstrike on their tent in northern Gaza Strip, stressing that had it not been for them, the world would not have known what was happening in the Gaza Strip.
Late on Sunday, an Israeli drone targeted the journalists tent outside al- Shifaa hospital in northern Gaza killing al- Sharif and fellow reporter Mohammed Qraiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Daher and Mohammed Nofal, as well as independent journalists Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Al-Khalidi.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ocampo said “killing journalists is like depriving the world of the gift of sight,” calling on journalists worldwide to embrace the cause of Gaza’s journalists and make it their own.
“Israel, supported by the United States and Germany, is bombing people in Gaza. This is a major dilemma, because the United States promised to be the guardian of the global order and pledged to protect those who deserve protection. However, it opposed the establishment of the International Criminal Court, while my country, Argentina, supported this misguided policy” judge Ocampo said, and emphasised the need to “restore order to the world, otherwise the fighting will herald the end of humanity”.
On Tuesday, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against six Israeli army commanders over their role in the coordinated assassination al-Sharif and his colleagues in Gaza.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
