Algerian Class-Action Lawsuit Against The Zionist Entity At The ICC

Algerian class action lawsuit against the Zionist entity was filed today, here on Thursday, at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, lawyer Abdelmadjid Merari said on Wednesday.

Marari explained on Radio Algeria International that the lawsuit, prepared by civil society activists and a group of lawyers, consists of dozens of pages and documents about all the crimes committed by the occupation forces in Palestine, especially the crimes of genocide.

“We will have a session with the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court level, to explain some of the points of this case and clarify our legal point of view on these terrible crimes committed by the occupation against the Palestinian people,” he added.

Merari confirmed that the complaint is based on legal foundations and mechanisms, foremost among which is that the State of Palestine is considered a member country of the International Criminal Court by the resolution of February 5, 2021, which states that the International Criminal Court announced, through the First Preliminary Chamber, the extension of its jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and Jerusalem, Eastern Province and the Gaza Strip, and that Palestine is a member state within this court and has jurisdiction to look into all crimes and violations committed within its geographical area.

The same spokesman added: “The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction, as long as one of the parties is a victim, and the court is obligated to protect its members, and therefore it is obligated to take action, and from here came the move of the International Criminal Prosecutor to the Rafah crossing, because the purpose and intention was to enter Gaza, but the occupation prevented him just as the Secretary-General of the United Nations to enter into the Gaza Strip.”

Merari denounced the inability of the major countries to stop the entity’s crimes against the Palestinian people, and considered those countries “partners and supporters of the entity and justifying the crimes it commits under the pretext of self-defence, which is something the International Court of Justice responded to,” as it said literally: “Israel has no right to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, and to use self-defence as an excuse, because it has the status of an occupier.”

The “Algerian International Redio” guest regretted the Security Council’s inability to come up with a unified resolution and its adoption of the approach of double standards in dealing with several issues, most notably the Palestinian issue, which resulted in “the Zionist entity placing itself above any accountability and always taking refuge in the right of the veto, which the major powers use capriciously through double standards.”

In this context, the Algerian National Committee for Solidarity with the Sahrawi People joined the signatories to the complaint that will be submitted before the International Criminal Court against the Zionist entity, due to the genocide and war crimes it committed against the Palestinian people, according to what was reported on Wednesday in a statement by the committee.

The source explained that Gilles Dever from the French Lyon Syndicate (a lawyer for the Polisario Front and a committed fighter for the Palestinian and Sahrawi issues) was assigned to this file, along with a group of lawyers interested in this lawsuit.

This initiative “reinforces” – as stated in the same statement – the call of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who last Monday called on all free people in the world, Arab legal experts, and human rights bodies and organizations to file a lawsuit before the International Criminal Court to hold the Zionist entity accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people.