International Lawyers Team Submits Two Memoranda to the ICC Against the Occupation Over Apartheid and Regarding the Killing of Journalists as a War Crime

SadaNews - In a new legal development, continuing the noble work they have been doing for the Palestinian cause since the beginning of the war on Gaza in late 2023 to preserve the rights of Palestinians there and also protect the West Bank, the international lawyers team representing the Palestinian people at the International Criminal Court today submitted two new legal appendices numbered 27 and 28, addressing Israeli war crimes against journalists and the systematic apartheid regime.

Dr. Faisal Khazal, head of the international lawyers team, stated: "Today we submitted the supplementary appendix for the apartheid case practiced by Israel against Palestinians, as this addition documents the system of apartheid and Israeli institutional oppression under the provisions of the Rome Statute. The Israeli system, applied through laws, policies, and violent practices, aims to maintain Israeli dominance by suppressing Palestinians and fragmenting the land (like the E1 settlement plan), which the Subcommittee for Objections of the Higher Planning Council of the Occupation Government rejected all objections to the plans last Wednesday and recommended the council approve the plans, discriminatory laws (such as the Nation-State Law), as well as violent oppression (such as attacks by settlers and starvation in Gaza)."

A responsible source in the office of the international prosecutor, who requested anonymity for professional safety reasons, stated that the international lawyers team urged the ICC today, on August 18, 2025, to issue arrest warrants against the main perpetrators of the apartheid actions against Palestinians, particularly Bezalel Smotrich (Minister of Finance) and Itamar Ben Gvir (Minister of National Security), for their direct roles in these crimes, and there is a high likelihood that arrest warrants will be issued against them.

Dr. Khazal continued his statement, saying: "Appendix No. 28 documents 270 cases of the intentional killing of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces, which are war crimes under the Rome Statute. Therefore, we presented compelling evidence that these are not incidental incidents, but a systematic policy to silence the voice of truth and prevent the world from seeing the crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. We have formally requested that the assassination of journalists be recognized as a war crime, demanding the issuance of arrest warrants against several Israeli officials, including the current Israeli Minister of Defense, and the former and current chiefs of staff, to preserve the rights of journalists and ensure that their pure blood is not shed without accountability for their rights."

It is worth mentioning that the international lawyers team continues its tireless efforts since it was officially mandated in October 2023. During this period, the team has battled complex legal and political challenges, headed by the Kuwaiti Dr. Faisal Khazal, with the participation of Tunisians Chawki Al-Tabib, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Lawyers Union, and Akram Al-Zreibi, the official spokesman for the team, and Palestinian Suhail Ashour, the former head of the Palestinian Bar Association.

Khazal concluded his statement by saying: "These are not just passing violations, but a systematic state policy aimed at subjugating the Palestinian people and depriving them of the simplest means of a decent life. The evidence we presented today is indisputable, and we are confident that the International Criminal Court will stand with justice and truth, and that these appendices will be a decisive step towards holding the criminals accountable and ending the impunity that the occupation has enjoyed for decades."

The international lawyers team has so far submitted 28 legal memoranda supported by thousands of pieces of evidence and documents, the latest of which was today, on August 18, 2025, regarding the martyrs of journalism and the apartheid system that included the new "E1" settlement project. For its part, the Palestinian presidency rejected the "E1" settlement project and held the U.S. administration responsible for halting it, according to a statement by its spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh to The Independent. Additionally, Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, considered that the decision to reactivate the E1 settlement plan comes in the context of separating Jerusalem from the Palestinian territories and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state."