Rabat – The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) announced on March 18 the launch of the “Global 195” initiative; which aims to establish a “global network of accountability” against Israelis and dual nationals involved in committing war crimes in Gaza through domestic and international legal mechanisms.
Global 195 will focus on individuals from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) as well as key Israeli political and military figures, including policymakers and operational personnel responsible for violations of international law.
Countries participating in the coalition include Malaysia, Türkiye, Norway, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United Kingdom.
The coalition plans on applying for private arrest warrants and initiating legal proceedings in various jurisdictions.
According to the announcement, preparations are already underway in the United Kingdom to pursue legal action against British citizens suspected of involvement in war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
The evidence for the initiative comes from ICJP’s “Justice for Gaza” investigation, which has collected over 135 eyewitness testimonies from across Gaza corroborated by open-source material, all meeting criminal legal standards required by UK and international courts.
The evidence shows patterns of systematic violations, including indiscriminate bombardments of civilians, targeting of vital infrastructure, and attacks on refugee camps.
The coalition has also gathered data showing attacks on designated “safe zones” and the use of starvation as a weapon of war were part of a coordinated strategy.
At a launch event in London, ICJP Director Tayab Ali paid tribute to the 404 Palestinians killed in Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza, earlier on the same day.
“Today’s events are a reminder of why initiatives like Global 195 are essential towards creating some form of accountability as this genocide continued unabated and supported by western governments and global corporations,” said Ali.
Ali pointed out the failure of international institutions to prosecute Israeli war criminals and the role of civil society in filling this gap. “Impunity for grave international crimes is not legally sustainable,” Ali said. “Where states fail to act, we must ensure justice is pursued.”
ICJP’s efforts are supported by various civil society organizations, including ICJ Norway and Defend International Law, who issued a joint statement calling for an independent investigation in order to “combat impunity for atrocity crimes regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim.”
“We are convinced that such crimes have been committed in Gaza. This complaint should now lead to independent and impartial investigations of the alleged war crimes, also by prosecutors in third States assigned with extraterritorial jurisdiction,” stated the civil society organizations.
The coalition’s efforts echo previous initiatives like those of the Belgium based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF); which focuses on “offensive legal action against perpetrators, accomplices and inciters of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine.”
The foundation’s name and work are a eulogy to the memory of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian child who was brutally and deliberately murdered by Israel last year. Hind’s entire family was killed before her eyes, and she was murdered shortly after while on the phone, pleading emergency services for help.
The HRF had previously filed complaints against several IOF soldiers while they are outside of Israel in order to insure that those involved in the genocide in Gaza are held accountable for their crimes; including Ghassan Alian who allegedly supervised and implemented the humanitarian aid and electricity blockade to the enclave.
