Doha: The State of Qatar participated in a seminar titled "The Role of the International Criminal Court in Prosecuting Those Responsible for Crimes Committed by the Israeli Occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories," held at the Arab League headquarters. The seminar focused on monitoring and documenting Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, prosecuting their perpetrators before international justice, and exploring ways to implement decisions by judicial bodies such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and advancing international sanctions.
According to Qatar News Agency, the seminar highlighted the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and crimes against humanity committed by the occupation. It addressed the severe impact of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people since October 7, 2023, which has resulted in the destruction of over 80 percent of the Gaza Strip, and a humanitarian crisis marked by more than 250,000 martyrs, wounded, detained, and missing persons. The seminar also discussed the use of starvation as a weapon and the imposition of guardianship on humanitarian work, turning aid centers into death traps and mass detention centers.
The seminar also covered the situation in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, where ongoing war crimes, terrorism, property destruction, racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement have been reported. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli aggression in the West Bank has resulted in the martyrdom of approximately 1,000 citizens, injuries to more than 7,000 individuals, the arrest of 12,500, and the displacement of about 60,000 citizens.
In his opening remarks at the seminar, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Department Ambassador Said Abu Ali, representing the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, emphasized the gravity of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. He condemned the crimes committed by the occupation as a disgrace to humanity and highlighted the lack of a real will to stop these actions, suggesting complicity in their continuation.
Ambassador Said Abu Ali also pointed out that war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, displacement, settlement, and Judaization are deeply ingrained crimes that have persisted since the Palestinian Nakba over seventy years ago. He noted that the ongoing Israeli aggression continues to inflict severe damage on the Palestinian people, their land, and their rights since October 7, 2023, resulting in extensive casualties and destruction.
The Assistant Secretary-General underscored that starvation has been used as a weapon of mass murder, with the occupying army imposing control over humanitarian efforts and transforming aid centers into harmful facilities. He also described the situation in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, as catastrophic, with the Israeli occupation committing numerous war crimes, supported by armed settler gangs and the occupation army, aiming to achieve colonial goals through annexation and Judaization.
He urged all countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to take this necessary step to advance the implementation of the two-state solution, viewing it as the only solution that reflects the will of the international community to achieve peace and prosperity in the region, and to address the roots of this ongoing conflict by ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.