KUALA LUMPUR: MyAqsa Foundation Malaysia has submitted war crimes evidence and testimony against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a statement, MyAqsa said the petition was lodged by a team of lawyers and human rights activists, led by Professor Datuk Dr Rahmat Mohamad, alongside lawyers, Lukman Sheriff Alias and Azril Mohd Amin to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.
They were also joined by the MyAqsa Foundation chairperson, Suwardi Yaacob and its trustees, Mohd Gunawan Che Ab Aziz and Datuk Abd Rasyid Idris.
"The focus of our submission encompasses the deplorable attacks and bombardments inflicted upon essential medical institutions, namely al-Shifa Hospital, al-Quds Hospital, Indonesia Hospital and the al-Ahl Hospital, all situated in Gaza.
"The submitted dossier spans 52 comprehensive pages, meticulously outlining the procedural history, relevant legal frameworks and a detailed chronicle of the atrocities committed by the accused party that has caused thousands of deaths, injuries and loss of houses of innocent Palestinians.
"Despite the overwhelming public evidence of various heinous war crimes being committed by Israel, MyAqsa wishes to express its disappointment with the ICC for its failure to proceed with the indictment of Benyamin Netanyahu after more than a month of Israelis' genocidal attacks that saw the deaths of more than 13,000 children and civilians."
The foundation said that as such, it has taken the liberty to collate the evidence in a cohesive and organise indictable manner.
"Evidence collated not only comprises corroborated video and pictures but a number of direct testimonies of highly credible people who witnessed first-hand atrocities committed at the relevant time.
"The collection of evidence would not be possible without the assistance of the Palestinian Government.
"If the ICC requires further strengthening of the case along the lines of evidence submitted by MyAqsa, MyAqsa is more than willing to provide further details."
It added that with the submission of the complaint petition, the foundation believes that there are more than reasonable grounds for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the accused individual.
"MyAqsa also calls for the formal charging of the accused person for the alleged crimes under Article 61 of the Rome Statute with urgency.
"We implore the initiation of a thorough investigation by ICC based on the information and evidence as provided in accordance with Articles 15 and 53 of the Rome Statute.
"From MyAqsa's perspective, there are compelling evidence for ICC to already initiate and complete its investigation."
The foundation also calls for the ICC to take action and stop the deaths and the displacements of thousands and thousands more in Gaza.
"ICC must be seen to act without fear or favour. It has acted expeditiously before, with less compelling public evidence in past atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza.
"MyAqsa demands that ICC pursues its investigation immediately and without any deliberate delay."