GENEVA - AN international group of lawyers and jurists said on Saturday they would ask the International Criminal Court to probe alleged 'war crimes' committed by Israel during its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
'The request for an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity would be placed by Wednesday at The Hague,' Haytham Manna, Arab Commission for Human Rights spokesman, told AFP.
The commission is among 300 human rights groups planning to submit a 37-page dossier to the ICC based in the Netherlands.
International lawyers and jurists met Saturday in Geneva to finalise details of the dossier, which documents several violations against international human rights committed by the Israeli army during the Gaza offensive, said Mr Manna.
The ICC is competent to adjudicate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed after 2002.
It can try individuals if a crime is alleged to have been committed on the territory of, or by a national of, a state party to the court's founding statute.
Even though Israel is not a state member, the group of jurists said the ICC could still prosecute individuals in the country.
Mr Manna added that some state members such as Venezuela and Bolivia are also interested in going to the ICC.
As state members of the ICC, these countries can go one step further than simply requesting for an investigation by putting forward the charge against the Israeli authorities, said Manna.
Bolivia is preparing a request seeking to have Israel prosecuted by the ICC, two ministers said Friday in Geneva.
The South American state says it wants to muster support among regional peers for a bid to have 'the Israeli political and military leaders responsible for the offensive on the Gaza Strip' brought before justice, said Sacha Llorenti, whose portfolio covers civil society.
Source: AF