International tribunal for Israeli crimes proposed

In a Tuesday address to the international conference of Islamic prosecutors in Tehran, Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi said that Israel's offensive on Gaza was an illegitimate act: "The attacks came at a time when 1.5 million Gazans were already suffering from a tight blockade for more than two years". Shahroudi said Israel has committed war crimes against the Palestinians, involving the use of deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas (photo), the employment of Palestinian children as human shields and the targeting of medics and hospitals. The World Health Organization reported that more than half of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 44 clinics were damaged by Israeli bombs. More than sixteen medics and ambulance drivers were killed when they tried to tend to the wounded. Israel's military foray into Gaza led to the death of nearly 1,400 Palestinians, most of them non-combatants.
 
The Iranian Judiciary proposes the implementation of the following measures:

1 - Establishing a secretariat to follow up and coordinate exchange of information on war crimes, genocide and other forms of organized crimes and holding periodic conferences in the Islamic and other interested countries to discuss the agreed subjects.

2 - Sending documents and evidences collected and presented in the Conference to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza and requesting the ICC prosecutor to investigate the cases and prosecute the criminals based on the complaints filed by the Palestinian government.

3 - Given the measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the prosecution of war criminals based on Articles 146 and 147 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions adopted in 1949 on the need to prosecute the war criminals and the requests made to Interpol for the arrest of 25 Israeli military and political leaders, the conference calls on all participating countries to support request by all means.

4 - Establishing the International Islamic Criminal Court to combat cultural impunity to realize the administration of international justice with respect to the crimes committed in the Muslim territories and against the Muslim population with the aim of prosecuting the perpetrators of war crimes, genocide and other international crimes.

5 - Given the failures of the UN Security Council to meet its responsibilities, it is proposed that based on Article 22 of the UN Charter participating authorities follow up the subject for establishment of the international tribunal for Israeli crimes and raising it within the UN General Assembly in order to be discussed and decided upon accordingly.

Tel Aviv has not ratified the 1998 Rome Statute; therefore, Israeli leaders cannot be brought before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. However, signatories to the Geneva Convention such as Iran can prosecute those involved in the assault on Gaza as culpable for war crimes.

On Monday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had said in his Geneva speech : "Following World War II they [the Zionists] resorted to military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering. And they sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine. And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine".