THE HAGUE/WASHINGTON: On May 20, the same day International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan made a surprise request for warrants to arrest the leaders of Israel and Hamas involved in the Gaza conflict, he suddenly canceled a sensitive mission to collect evidence in the region, eight people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Planning for the visit had been under way for months with US officials, four of the sources said.
Khan’s decision to request the warrants upended the plans backed by Washington and London for the prosecutor and his team to visit Gaza and Israel. The court was set to gather on-site evidence of war crimes and offer Israeli leaders a first opportunity to present their position and any action they were taking to respond to the allegations of war crimes, five sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges told Reuters.
Khan’s request for a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the court’s first attempt to detain a sitting, Western-backed head of state — also flew in the face of efforts the US and Britain were leading to prevent the court from prosecuting Israeli leaders, the sources said.
The two states have said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel and that seeking warrants would not help resolve the conflict.
Khan’s office told Reuters the decision to seek warrants was, in line with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was enough evidence to proceed, and the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately could prevent ongoing crimes.
Reuters is the first to report in detail about the planned trip and the repercussions of its cancelation.
Khan had for three years been working to improve relations with the US, which is not a member of the court. He had asked Washington to help put pressure on its ally Israel – also not a court member – to allow his team access, four sources said.
His move has harmed operational cooperation with the US and angered Britain, a founding member of the court, the sources said.
A senior US State Department official said Washington continued to work with the court on its investigations in Ukraine and Sudan, but three sources with direct knowledge of the US administration’s dealings with the court told Reuters cooperation has been damaged by Khan’s sudden action.
They said problems have played out in preparations for new indictments of suspects in Sudan’s Darfur and the apprehension of fugitives. Two of the sources said one operation to detain a suspect, which they declined to describe in detail, did not go ahead as planned due to the loss of key US support. All the sources expressed concerns Khan’s action would jeopardize cooperation in other ongoing investigations.
However, Khan’s sudden move has drawn support from other countries, exposing political differences between national powers over the conflict and the court. France, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland have made statements endorsing Khan’s decision; Canada and Germany have stated more simply that they respect the court’s independence.
The world’s war crimes court for prosecuting individuals, the ICC does not have a police force to detain suspects, so it relies on 124 countries that ratified the 1998 Rome treaty that founded it. Non-members China, Russia, the US and Israel sometimes work with the court on an ad hoc basis.
A few hours’ notice
Khan personally decided to cancel the visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, which was due to begin on May 27, two of the sources said.
Court and Israeli officials were due to meet on May 20 in Jerusalem to work out final details of the mission. Khan instead requested warrants that day for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that initial discussions had taken place regarding a visit to Gaza by Khan, covering security and transportation.
Flight tickets and meetings between senior-level court and Israeli officials were canceled with just hours of notice, blindsiding some of Khan’s own staff, seven sources with direct and indirect knowledge of the decision said.
The US State Dept. official said that abandoning the May visit broke from the prosecution’s common practice of seeking engagement with states under investigation. Three US sources said, without providing details, that Khan’s motive to change course was not clearly explained and the about-face had hurt the court’s credibility in Washington.
Khan’s office did not directly address those points but said he had spent the three previous years trying to improve dialogue with Israel and had not received any information that demonstrated “genuine action” at a domestic level from Israel to address the crimes alleged.
Khan “continues to welcome the opportunity to visit Gaza” and “remains open to engaging with all relevant actors,” his office said in an email.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters Hamas had no prior knowledge of Khan’s intentions to send a team of investigators into Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Nearly 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ground and air campaign, Gaza’s health ministry says.
Washington blindsided
The ICC admitted “the State of Palestine” in 2015, and Khan says his office has jurisdiction over alleged atrocity crimes committed since Oct. 7 by Palestinians in Israel and by anyone in the Gaza Strip. Neither the US or Britain recognize the Palestinian state, so they dispute the court’s jurisdiction over the territory.
Even though Washington and London argue that the court has no jurisdiction in this situation, they were talking to Israel to help prosecutor Khan arrange the visit, four sources close to their administrations told Reuters.
The sources said they had been aware that Khan might seek warrants for Netanyahu and other high-level Israeli officials: Since at least March, Khan or members of his team had been informing the governments of the US, UK, Russia, France and China about the possibility of bringing charges against Israeli and Hamas leaders.
A diplomatic source in a Western country said, without giving details, there was a diplomatic effort under the radar to try to convince the ICC not to take this path.
“We worked hard to build a relationship of no surprises,” said one US source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case.
Blinken on May 21 called Khan’s decision “profoundly wrong-headed,” saying it was out of line with the process he expected and would complicate prospects for a deal on freeing hostages or a ceasefire. He told a Senate appropriations committee he would work with Republicans to impose sanctions against ICC officials.
On the same day, Cameron told parliament Kahn’s move was mistaken.
In private, he responded furiously to the change of plan, calling it “crazy” because Khan’s team had not yet visited Israel and Gaza, and threatening in a phone call with Khan to pull Britain out of the court and cut financial support to it, three sources with direct knowledge of the discussion said. A foreign office official declined to comment on the phone call or on Britain’s relationship to the court.
In June, the ICC allowed the UK to file a written submission outlining its legal arguments that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the case. The issue of the court’s jurisdiction divides both members and non-members of the court.
The US has a fraught relationship with the court. In 2020, under the former US President Donald Trump, Washington imposed sanctions against it, which were dropped under President Joe Biden.
Khan’s office said he “has made significant efforts to engage with the United States in recent years in order to strengthen cooperation, and has been grateful for the concrete and important assistance provided by US authorities.”
ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza
https://arab.news/4qnzt
ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza
- ICC mission planned for Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem was called off
- Sudden cancelation angered Washington, London
- In call, UK’s Cameron threatened to pull UK out of ICC and cut funds
Stranded aid trucks in Egypt deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
- Aid groups warn there is a high risk of famine across the besieged coastal territory
- Talks involving Egypt, the United States and Israel have failed to reopen Rafah
About 50 kilometers from the Gaza border, trucks carrying flour, water and other aid line a dusty road in both directions. The drivers say they have been waiting for several weeks in the searing Egyptian summer heat.
The standstill is exacerbating Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis after nine months of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Aid groups warn there is a high risk of famine across the besieged coastal territory.
The truck drivers, parked on the outskirts of the Egyptian city of Al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula, say they have been unable to deliver humanitarian supplies ever since Israel expanded its offensive on the Gaza-Egypt border in May.
Some food has had to be discarded, they said.
“I swear to God, before this load, we came here and stood for more than 50 days and eventually the load was returned because it had expired,” said truck driver Elsayed El-Nabawi.
“We had to turn around and return it. We loaded another batch, and here we are standing again and only God knows if this load will make it before it expires or what will happen to it.”
The Israeli military started its assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah in May. The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a lifeline to the outside world for Gazans, allowing the delivery of aid and the evacuation of patients, has been shut since then.
Talks involving Egypt, the United States and Israel have failed to reopen Rafah, where Egypt wants a Palestinian presence restored on the Gazan side of the border. Israeli flags now fly over Gazan buildings destroyed along the border with Egypt.
“We’ve been stranded here for over a month waiting to deliver this load. We’ve waiting for our turn but nothing yet” said Ahmed Kamel, another of the truck drivers, who sit by their vehicles drinking tea and smoking cigarettes.
“We don’t know our fate — when we will be able to enter? Today? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Only God knows. Will the stuff we’re carrying hold up or most of it will go bad?”
Aid and commercial supplies have still entered Gaza through other land border crossings, through air drops and by sea, but aid groups and Western diplomats say the supplies are far below needs. The drivers say they are waiting for Israeli permission.
‘DIFFICULTIES’
Distribution of aid in Gaza was difficult even before Israel’s assault on Rafah. Israel has enforced restrictions on goods entering the enclave, saying it wants to prevent them reaching Hamas. Some aid convoys have also been hit in Israeli military strikes, resulting in deaths of aid workers.
Palestinian gangs inside Gaza have also reportedly sought to steal aid and commercial supplies entering the territory of some 2.3 million Palestinians. Desperate Palestinians have also overwhelmed trucks, taking much needed humanitarian supplies.
A senior official at the Israeli foreign ministry said the backlog of aid in Egypt was due to humanitarian aid that has piled up on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing point, creating a backlog of around 1,200 truckloads worth of aid.
The official said that while Israel continued to facilitate the entry of supplies into Gaza, the distribution network inside Gaza run by international groups had been “disrupted” in recent months, blaming local Palestinian criminal gangs and Hamas.
The Israeli military, which oversees coordination of aid in Gaza, has said that it is letting in enough food in from Israel and Egypt for the entire population. It has also acknowledged that aid agencies face “difficulties” in transporting food once it has entered through crossing points, including from Israel.
Israeli tanks storm Gaza City districts, residents report heavy fire
- Ongoing offensives in Daraj and Tuffah in the east and Tel Al-Hawa, Sabra, and Rimal further west
- New Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the US step up efforts to mediate a ceasefire agreement
CAIRO: Israeli forces pounded Gaza City early on Monday and columns of tanks advanced into the heart of the city from different directions in what residents said was one of the heaviest attacks since Oct 7.
The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people were killed but emergency teams were unable to reach them because of ongoing offensives in Daraj and Tuffah in the east and Tel Al-Hawa, Sabra, and Rimal further west.
Israeli tanks had so far been stationed in some areas of Tel Al-Hawa and Sabra but hadn’t advanced deep into the three other districts, which residents said had been bombed throughout the night into the early morning hours. Several multi-floor buildings have been destroyed, they added.
One of the Israeli tank thrusts, residents said, was from an eastern direction, pushing people toward the western road near the Mediterranean.
“The enemy is behind us and the sea is in front of us, where we will we go?” said Abdel-Ghani, one Gaza City resident, who did not give his full name.
“Tank shells and missiles from the planes are falling on the roads and houses like hell from a volcano. People are running in all directions and no one knows where to go,” Abdel-Ghani told Reuters via a chat app.
The Israeli military said in a statement it had been mounting an operation against militant infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and that it had taken out of action more than 30 fighters who posed a threat to Israeli troops.
The new Israeli offensive comes as Egypt, Qatar and the United States stepped up efforts to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas as the Gaza war entered its tenth month.
Gaza residents said tanks advanced from at least three directions and reached the heart of Gaza City, backed by heavy Israeli fire from the air and ground. That forced thousands of people out of their homes to look for safer shelter, which for many was impossible to find, and some slept on the roadside.
Medics at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City had to evacuate patients to the already crowded and under-equipped Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said.
The war was triggered on Oct. 7 when fighters led by Hamas, which controlled Gaza, attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive, according to Gaza health officials.
Hopes among Gaza residents of a pause in the fighting had revived after Hamas accepted a key part of a US ceasefire proposal, prompting an official in the Israeli negotiating team to say there was a real chance of a deal.
Hamas has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before it would sign an agreement. Instead, the militant group said it would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout the six-week first phase, a Hamas source told Reuters on Saturday.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the deal must not prevent Israel from resuming fighting until its war objectives are met. Those goals were defined at the start of the war as dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, as well as returning Israeli hostages.
US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns is to meet with the Qatari prime minister and the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs on Wednesday in Doha, said a source familiar with the issue who asked not to be further identified.
GCC, Iraq officials discuss security, economic challenges
- Jasem Al-Budaiwi, secretary-general of the GCC, said the meeting was held to strengthen cooperation
RIYADH: Officials from the GCC and Iraq met here on Sunday to discuss the latter’s security and economic challenges, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Jasem Al-Budaiwi, secretary-general of the GCC, said the meeting was held to strengthen cooperation.
Ongoing support for Iraq was outlined by the GCC Ministerial Council at its 160th session last month, Albudaiwi said.
The officials discussed several topics of mutual interest, including recent regional and international developments.
Gaza destruction likely helped push Hamas to soften ceasefire demands, several officials say
- Hamas over the weekend appeared to drop its longstanding demand that Israel promise to end the war as part of any ceasefire deal
- Egypt and Qatar have been working with the US to broker a ceasefire and end the devastating nine-month war
DUBAI: Several officials in the Middle East and the US believe the level of devastation in the Gaza Strip caused by a nine-month Israeli offensive likely has helped push Hamas to soften its demands for a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas over the weekend appeared to drop its longstanding demand that Israel promise to end the war as part of any ceasefire deal. The sudden shift has raised new hopes for progress in internationally brokered negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday boasted that military pressure — including Israel’s ongoing two-month offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah — “is what has led Hamas to enter negotiations.”
Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction, is highly secretive and little is known about its inner workings.
But in recent internal communications seen by The Associated Press, messages signed by several senior Hamas figures in Gaza urged the group’s exiled political leadership to accept the ceasefire proposal pitched by US President Joe Biden.
The messages, shared by a Middle East official familiar with the ongoing negotiations, described the heavy losses Hamas has suffered on the battlefield and the dire conditions in the war-ravaged territory. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to share the contents of internal Hamas communications.
It was not known if this internal pressure was a factor in Hamas’ flexibility. But the messages indicate divisions within the group and a readiness among top militants to reach a deal quickly, even if Hamas’ top official in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, may not be in a rush. Sinwar has been in hiding since the war erupted last October and is believed to be holed up in a tunnel deep underground.
US officials declined to comment on the communications.
But a person familiar with Western intelligence who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter said the group’s leadership understands its forces have suffered heavy losses and that has helped Hamas move closer to a ceasefire deal.
Two US officials say the Americans are aware of internal divisions within Hamas and that those divisions, the destruction in Gaza or pressure from mediators Egypt and Qatar could have been factors in the militant group softening its demands for a deal. The US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Biden administration’s view of the current situation.
The Middle Eastern official shared details from two internal Hamas communications, both written by senior officials inside Gaza to the group’s exiled leadership in Qatar, where Hamas’ supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is based.
The communication suggested that the war had taken a toll on Hamas fighters, with the senior figures urging the militant’s political wing abroad to accept the deal despite Sinwar’s reluctance.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha dismissed any suggestions of divisions within the group.
“The movement’s position is unified and is crystallized through the organizational framework of the leadership,” he said.
The intelligence official showed The Associated Press a transcript of the communications in Arabic, but declined to share specific details about how the information was obtained, or the raw form of the communications.
The official said the communications took place in May and June and came from multiple senior officials inside the group’s military wing in Gaza.
The messages acknowledged Hamas fighters had been killed and the level of devastation to the Gaza Strip wrought by the Israeli campaign in the enclave. They also suggest that Sinwar either isn’t fully aware of the toll of the fighting or isn’t fully communicating it to those negotiating outside of the territory.
It was not known whether Haniyeh or any other top officials in Qatar had responded.
Israeli officials declined to comment on the communications. Egypt and Qatar also had no immediate comment.
Egypt and Qatar have been working with the United States to broker a ceasefire and end the devastating nine-month war. After months of fits and starts, talks resumed last week and are scheduled to continue in the coming days.
A deal is still not guaranteed. Netanyahu’s office announced over the weekend that “gaps still remain.” The US officials said they are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for a ceasefire based on the latest developments, but stressed that numerous efforts had looked promising only to fall through.
Still, the sides appear closer to a deal than they have been in months.
Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ October attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says Hamas is still holding about 120 hostages — about a third of them thought to be dead.
Since then, the Israeli air and ground offensive has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The offensive has caused widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine, according to international officials.
Both Hamas and Egyptian officials confirmed Saturday that Hamas has dropped a key demand that Israel commit up front to end the war. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected this demand, leaving the talks stalled for months.
Instead, the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said the phased deal would start with a six-week ceasefire during which older, sick and female hostages would be released by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Talks on a broader deal, including an end to the war, would only begin during this phase, they said.
Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until Israel destroys Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, even if hostages are freed.
Petra to gain 1,400 new hotel rooms amid tourism recovery efforts
LONDON: A total of 1,400 new hotel rooms will be built in Petra by local investors as a part of an investment drive to boost the tourism industry, a top official said on Sunday.
Fares Braizat, chief commissioner of the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, said local investors are committed to the project despite challenging conditions.
He expressed confidence that the country’s tourism industry would recover and return to normal, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Braizat said the authority was intensifying efforts to promote Petra.
He made the comments during a tour of the Petra region by Jordan’s Tourism Minister Makram Al-Qaisi.
Al-Qaisi said the project would create more jobs and praised the collaboration between the public and private sectors to promote tourism.
The incentives introduced to support the industry include waiving rent for the authority’s tenants, and measures related to social security, income, and sales tax, he added.
During the minister’s visit, the Marriott Hotel group in Petra laid the cornerstone for a project to add 70 more rooms to its existing operations.
