ICJP, Kuwait seek to bring Zionist entity to justice over war crimes ---By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: As part of a diplomatic mission, Tayab Ali, an international solicitor and director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) met HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. The discussions centered on collaborative endeavors aimed at bringing the Zionist entity to justice for war crimes before the International Court of Justice. This meeting signifies a diplomatic commitment on behalf of Kuwait to actively engage in legal proceedings, reinforcing the nation’s dedication to addressing human rights concerns and pursuing accountability within the framework of international law. In an exclusive interview with Kuwait Times, Ali said the purpose of his visit to Kuwait is for a collaborative effort with legal teams in the country, revealing ICJP aims to share expertise and provide assistance in understanding the legal intricacies of the complaint, offering guidance on collecting evidence effectively. The focus is on empowering Kuwaiti legal teams to navigate international laws related to the Palestinian case and ensuring that evidence is presented in a compelling and usable manner. During this diplomatic mission, Ali and his team engaged with the Kuwaiti government, particularly meeting with the prime minister. They provided a legal briefing, outlining potential actions within the framework of international laws. Ali commended the Kuwaiti government’s strong stance on the Palestinian cause and expressed their commitment to supporting these efforts. The collaboration involves offering investigative expertise, advising on legal frameworks and guiding Kuwait in supporting both South Africa and ICJP in their investigations South Africa has brought a case before the UN’s International Court of Justice, which accuses the Zionist entity of genocide in its offensive in Gaza. South Africa launched the emergency case at the ICJ in The Hague this month, arguing the Zionist entity had breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. South Africa demanded the judges order the Zionist entity to halt its offensive in the Palestinian territory. The ongoing partnership with Kuwait’s legal team underscores a commitment to assisting Palestinians and fostering international cooperation in pursuing justice. “The UK-based ICJP operates as an independent organization comprising lawyers, academics, and politicians united in advocating for Palestinian rights. With a primary focus on analyzing the situation in Palestine, where we submitted evidence of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by (the Zionist entity) in Gaza to London’s Metropolitan Police, following calls for evidence by its war crimes unit,” he said, adding that it is very clear that the Zionist entity attempts to eradicate Palestinians not only but bombings and shootings, but also by removing life-sustaining infrastructure. “From our analysis, it is clear that (the Zionist entity) committed a war crime way before the Gaza war. For example, in 2009, we issued an arrest warrant for the Zionist entity’s former foreign minister Tzipi Livni over war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza that year. My firm was ready, willing, and able to act for clients to seek the arrest of anyone suspected of war crimes,” Ali said. Ali emphatically emphasized the inhumane conditions prevailing in Gaza, underscoring a lack of accountability for actions committed by the Zionist entity. His assessment pointed out a stark asymmetry, where instances of wrongdoing by Zionists seemingly evade consequences, while Palestinians face swift and punitive measures for their actions. He underscored a fundamental challenge to achieving peace, pointing at the imbalanced distribution of power and resources between the conflicting parties. “There will be no peace if just one side holds all the cards and has everything and doesn’t want to give anything away, while the other side is left with nothing,” he stressed. “The (Zionist) side doesn’t want to give Palestinians their rights and why should they? There is no accountability internationally. And if the Palestinians complain to the international community about what (the Zionist entity) is doing, the community decides to rally around (the Zionist entity), which will be provided with more funding and weapons. This relationship is destructive,” Ali added. Regarding ICJP’s role, he stated: “When the war in Gaza started, what we did was collect evidence and interview victims for hours and days in a recorded format. Once we complete this, we will take the information from hour to hour and find evidence, and in the end, put that in a big timeframe and see how we can benefit from it in the case of the war crimes against (the Zionist entity),” adding that they have interviewed over 50 victims and collected videos and images they have in their devices. “I came to Kuwait with Professor Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a surgeon specializing in conflict medicine, who provided us with information and photographs and videos of Gaza. He not only spent 80 hours a day saving lives, but also collected evidence of what (the Zionist entity) has been doing, including what happened to victims and photographs of children with wounds caused by white phosphorus,” Ali explained “Our evidence is like collecting pieces of a jigsaw. We are putting pieces of evidence in a timeline. For example, Dr Ghassan, as a well-known surgeon, had the ability to explain and expose what was happening in the hospitals of Gaza. At the same time, we have photographs from journalists of injuries and bombings and videos of Dr Ghassan treating the victims with timestamps and dates and the evidential narrative to support our allegations,” Ali indicated. “It is very difficult to collect information from Gaza; so what we decided to do is to collect it from people who left Gaza with photographs in their mobile phones. We wanted to collect the evidence from inside Gaza, but (the Zionist entity) bombed universities where they had the research. They targeted journalists and doctors and they destroyed infrastructure. Even humanitarian workers were under attack,” he highlighted. Ali expressed profound concern, asserting that the failure of the International Criminal Court to prosecute the Zionist entity for war crimes in Gaza could signify a significant blow to the foundations of international law. He called upon countries worldwide to actively participate in addressing the issue. “A war crimes complaint must be filed with every police force in every country across the globe,” he asserted.