Malaysia's MyAQSA Foundation to submit Israeli war crimes evidence to ICC
By Rosmalis Anuar
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s non-profit organisation, MyAQSA Foundation, will submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) an extensive dossier on the war crimes committed by the Israeli Regime against the Palestinian population, when its team meets up with the ICC Prosecutor in The Hague, the Netherlands, later this month.
Co-chair of MyAQSA expert legal team Lukman Sheriff Alias said the latest evidence detailing the war crimes were collected in collaboration with the Palestinian Government and Palestinian Embassy in Malaysia in efforts to ensure that justice prevails, he said.
“The massacres committed by the Israeli Zionist Regime are blatant crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which are within the ICC's jurisdiction under the Rome Statute,” he told a press conference at the Palestininan Embassy, here Friday.
Also present were Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali and MyAQSA Foundation Chairman Suwardi Yaacob. MyAQSA Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to humanitarian and relief efforts for the Palestinian people.
Explaining further, Lukman said the ICC Prosecutor began an official investigation on the war crimes in Palestine on Feb 9, 2021, marking a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice.
According to media reports, the ICC announced that it has jurisdiction in Palestine, clearing its chief prosecutor to investigate alleged atrocities despite fierce Israeli objections.
“MyAQSA Foundation urges the ICC Prosecutor’s office to use powers, as granted under the relevant clauses, to promptly initiate action against Israel based on the reports and evidence provided,” he said.
Lukman emphasised that Israeli Regime has intentionally killed more than 9,000 Palestinians in the last four weeks, for which 70 per cent of them are women and children, not counting the systematic attack and killing of Palestinians since the beginning of Israeli's occupation in 1948.
He noted that the right of self-defence claimed by the Zionist Regime cannot be sustained and went beyond the scope as they have so far, among others, intentionally dropped more than 18,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza.
On top of that, Lukman said the acts of the Israeli Zionist Regime to employ the use of artillery-fired white phosphorus in military operations in the most densely populated areas in the world, Gaza and Lebanon, is also a self-evident war crime under the Rome Statute and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, Walid said MyAQSA has done a great job collecting evidence of the Israeli war crimes, noting that the effort is also supported by the Malaysian government.
“Together with MyAQSA and the embassy, we coordinate, cooperate and try to do whatever we can on behalf of Palestine and the Palestinians who are suffering,” he said adding that the embassy is grateful for the efforts.
On a related note, Lukman said MyAQSA also called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to establish its own security council and peacekeeping force, adding that Malaysia being a member of the OIC should play a leading role in advocating and proposing this initiative.
“An emergency meeting of the OIC should be convened without delay to approve the motion, followed by the expeditious submission of this proposal to the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
Lukman said MyAQSA also called on Muslim countries that currently maintain diplomatic relations with Israel to take immediate action to sever those relations and close Israeli embassies within their respective countries.
-- BERNAMA
