Israel’s Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) last week filed a second complaint with the International Criminal Court in the Hague (ICC) against the head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haneyya.
According to the Israel Hayom daily the case relates to the alleged recruitment of about 17000 Gazan children for the struggle against Israel since 2016.
Israel’s JIJ also accuses Haneyya of committing two major war crimes: the actual exploitation of children under the age of 15 for military purposes using them as child soldiers and as perpetrators of terror attacks; and the ongoing use of children as human shields and military targets in order to disrupt Israel’s war activity.
In addition Haneyya is also accused of a widespread and systematic use of torture and unlawful killing by Hamas’ internal security forces in the Gaza Strip.
“The entire procedure was very efficient and orderly and we felt that we were trusted by the recipients of our complaint” JIJ’s director Uri Morad told Israel Hayom on Sunday.
“I believe that the complaint submitted by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice will be handled in a faithful and impartial manner” he claimed.
This is a second complaint filed by JIJ against Haneyya after a complaint a year ago regarding Haneyya’s alleged war crimes during the 2014 Gaza war. That initial complaint has passed a preliminary screening and is now under a preliminary examination as part of the ICC’s overall examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel is not a member of the ICC court in the Hague. Lawsuits against PA and Hamas officials have been filed at the Hague by private organizations.
