Ismail Haniyeh - Crimes Against Humanity
Communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding Crimes against Humanity committed by Ismail Haniyeh against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip from June 2014 through July 2018
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
We, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, submit this communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court concerning Ismail Haniyeh’s crimes against humanity committed through widespread and/or systematic acts of murder, imprisonment, and torture of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
On January 16, 2015, the Prosecutor began a preliminary examination into the “situation in Palestine” to determine whether a full investigation should be opened for crimes committed within the Palestinian territories. In this communication, we contend that if any full investigation is to be pursued into crimes committed in such territories or by Palestinian nationals, then a case should be lodged against Haniyeh.
Haniyeh is, and has been at all times material to this communication, a senior leader of Hamas. He has played a pivotal role in developing and enforcing Hamas’ extremist ideology and consistent human rights violations against the Gazan civilian population as well as others. As the de facto and subsequently de jure leader of Hamas, Haniyeh wielded effective control over the relevant activities in Gaza. Hamas’ interconnected command structure is such that the political, social, and military wings of the organization are intertwined, and in reality, under a common, highly-centralized leadership. Accordingly, Haniyeh knew of and was in a position to prevent the crimes against humanity that have been committed against the civilian population of Gaza; yet he has manifestly failed to do so.
The case is grave enough to merit further investigation. Haniyeh’s crimes have had and will continue to have devastating consequences on the entire population of Gaza, as well as their families and the rest of society in the surrounding region. These crimes benefit no one but the Hamas leadership. As the Hamas-dominated Gazan courts have done nothing to punish those who play a direct role in committing these crimes against humanity, there is no prospect of local justice.
Haniyeh’s crimes are not merely historical; they are ongoing and contribute to the continued conflict between Hamas and Fatah and to the instability in the region. This internal conflict within the Palestinian leadership is damaging to the Palestinian population it is supposed to represent, and it constantly diminishes any chance of peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. The ICC has the rare opportunity to take an important step not just in punishing perpetrators and deterring crimes against humanity, but also in improving Gaza’s civil society and promoting peace. For all these reasons, if any investigation is to be pursued into crimes committed in Palestine, then we respectfully urge the Office of the Prosecutor to launch a full investigation into the actions of Haniyeh.
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LEGAL ACTION IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice has been actively engaged in legal proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly focusing on the actions of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. In response to the October 7, 2023, attacks, JIJ has intensified its efforts to hold these groups accountable, arguing that these acts meet the criteria for genocide under international law. The legal documents submitted by JIJ underscore the historical context of the Genocide Convention of 1948 and emphasize the legal definition of genocide as codified in the Rome Statute of the ICC.
In past years, JIJ has filed extensive legal complaints and memos to both national and international bodies, highlighting human rights violations in the region. Their goal is to bring perpetrators, who have enjoyed impunity, to justice. Notably, JIJ has filed lawsuits against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for war crimes committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and against Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for crimes against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
In addition to these efforts, JIJ has submitted fifty-two Palestinian testimonies to the ICC in The Hague, revealing severe abuses committed by the Palestinian Authority against their own citizens. These testimonies detail brutal acts, including murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, and rape of Palestinian and Israeli citizens residing in the West Bank. A landmark 1,800-page verdict by Judge Moshe Drori of the Jerusalem District Court has also held the Palestinian Authority accountable for these severe abuses.
Criminal Charges Against Ismail Haniyeh in The Hague
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDbJusW8DMw
On January 16, 2015, the Office of the Prosecutor to the International Criminal Court began a preliminary examination into the “situation in Palestine” in order to determine whether a full investigation should be opened for crimes committed within the Palestinian territories. On March 6 2017, we, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice filed a communication with the Office of the Prosecutor concerning Hamas’s actions during the 2014 Gaza war. We argue that a full investigation should be pursued, and a case should eventually be lodged against Ismail Haniyeh for his role in the commission of war crimes during the 2014 conflict with Israel.
Ismail Haniyeh is the longtime Hamas leader in Gaza and was in power during the 2014 conflict. He has played a pivotal role in crafting Hamas’s extremist ideology and their consistent violation of the Gazan civilian population's human rights. Along with failing to prevent Hamas militants from committing war crimes during the 2014 war, he actively encouraged and funded their unlawful acts.
There were two prominent war crimes committed by Hamas militants during the war in Gaza. First, they consistently put civilians in grave danger by using them for military purposes such as “human shields.” Hams would fire rockets and mortars from densely populated areas, encourage (and sometimes force) civilians to remain in potential military targets, and store weaponry in schools, hospitals, mosques, and other civilian structures. Second, the rockets Hamas used during the war are prohibited under international law. These rockets are exceedingly difficult to control and therefore cannot accurately fire at lawful military targets. Especially because Hamas oftentimes fired from civilian areas, using these unpredictable machinery placed the population in great danger.
Haniyeh played a significant role in these crimes as the head of Hamas’s interconnected structure. He personally, and his government more generally, urged Gazan civilians to remain in the vicinity of their homes despite Israeli warnings. The government, along with its al-Qassam military wing, also established a curfew that would ensure civilians remained in their homes, with some militant groups forcibly confining Gazans when they tried to disobey the curfew. The funding for the military wing, which was responsible for the indiscriminate firing of over 4,000 rockets and mortars, also came directly from foreign aid given to Hamas’s political and social wings. Despite knowing of these acts being commonly committed within its territory, Haniyeh’s political wing did nothing to prevent them being carried out. Not surprisingly, the Hamas run-and-created Gazan courts have also done nothing to punish those who played a direct role in committing these crimes.
These crimes had devastating consequences. Over 2,100 Gazans were killed during the conflict, with these crimes playing a direct and significant role in causing the high number of fatalities. The strain these crimes put on civilians by placing them in the path of danger and cutting off all potential avenues to safety cannot be overstated. Moreover, the indifference with which Hamas sacrificed Gazans for military protection and an advantageous narrative is the precise manner of crime the International Criminal Court was established to combat.
For these reasons, we filed a communication urging the Prosecutor to launch a full investigation into Haniyeh and Hamas. The Court was created to bring to justice the individuals responsible for the worst sorts of crimes, and Haniyeh is an individual who was particularly responsible for a prime example of these crimes being broadly committed.