The Jerusalem Institute of Justice last week filed a second lawsuit against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing him of war crimes.
The case focuses on 17,000 Gazan children that Haniyeh's terrorist group has recruited since 2016 in its war against Israel.
According to documents and evidence presented to the ICC, the group is accusing Haniyeh of committing two fundamental war crimes. First, he has actively exploited children under 15 for military purposes, using them as child soldiers and encouraging them to commit and assist in the execution of terrorist attacks. Second, he has consistently used children as human shields and as military targets.
Additionally, Haniyeh is accused of widespread, methodical use of torture and extrajudicial executions, carried out by Hamas' internal security branch in Gaza.
Attorney Uri Morad of the JIJ, who presented the case to the ICC, said he and his team "believe the lawsuit filed by the [JIJ] will be handled [by the court] in good faith and without bias."
A year ago, the JIJ filed a lawsuit against Haniyeh for war crimes committed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. The lawsuit passed the initial hearing phase and is presently undergoing a preliminary examination. It should be noted that Israel is not a member of the ICC, but other private organizations have also submitted lawsuits against senior Palestinian officials.
"Our goal is to balance out the public and media discourse in Israel and also on the international level," said Morad. "We want to delegitimize terrorist organizations and bring real war criminals to justice. It was the Palestinian Authority that opened the door [to ICC proceedings]. They did so to hack away at Israel, but we are using this door to do justice," he added.
The European Union's top diplomat, meanwhile, said last week that the bloc remains a staunch supporter of the ICC despite U.S. condemnation of the tribunal.
"I think it is important for me to say a few words on the system that we have built together to assess human rights violations and ensure accountability and bring perpetrators to justice," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Thursday.
"Because today the existence of the International Criminal Court is being questioned and I think it is important to say in this semi-cycle, formally and clearly, that it is not questioned by the European Union and that we will continue to strongly and fully support the ICC and its work," she said.
The Hague-based court was created in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in areas where perpetrators might not otherwise face justice.
Mogherini said the ICC "has strengthened universal justice beyond power politics and beyond geopolitical interests," and added that "accountability is essential to build the foundations for peace."
