By Amit Sarwal and Jai Bharadwaj
Islamist propaganda reports circulating on social media claiming that India has been charged with committing war crimes in Gaza, Palestine, have been debunked as entirely false through a fact-check conducted by AAP.
According to AAP Factcheck, the misleading claim seems to have originated from a YouTube video titled “India charged for war crimes in Gaza” by CJ Werleman.
In the video, the speaker CJ Werleman suggests that Israel’s acquisition of drones from India could “further implicate India in war crimes.” However, the video content does not substantiate the title’s claim that India has been charged with such crimes.
He also claims, “Israel hiring Indian Hindu workers to rebuild Gaza for illegal Jewish settlements, which constitutes a war crime.” Meanwhile, YouTube has restricted his show to limited advertisements because it claims the content is too “controversial”
India has consistently supported Palestine and Palestinian refugees through contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Last year, India sent nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief supplies to support the people of Palestine. The aid was transported by an Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft, which delivered the consignment to El-Arish airport in Egypt.
India’s shipment included essential life-saving medicines, surgical supplies, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets, and other critical items.
This aid was dispatched three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas following the deaths of civilians at a hospital in Gaza.
During this phone conversation, PM Modi reiterated India’s long-standing “principled position” on the Israel-Palestine issue and assured continued humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, in a statement at the UN General Assembly in March this year said that this conflict had resulted in an alarming humanitarian crisis that was simply unacceptable.
A former Indian Army Officer, Col Waibhav Kale (Retd), who was working with the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) as a security service coordinator, also lost his life in May this year when the UN vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in Gaza’s Rafah region.
In 2018, PM Modi created history by becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine. He travelled to Ramallah in a chopper provided by the Jordanian government, with an escort from the Israeli Air Force.
PM Modi was awarded the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine,’ the highest honour given to foreign dignitaries, by President Mahmoud Abbas. The award recognised PM Modi’s significant role in strengthening India-Palestine relations.
During their joint press statement, President Abbas praised Modi’s leadership in promoting peace and stability in the region and globally. PM Modi added that bestowing the honour on him was a matter of proud moment for India and was reflective of the friendship between India and Palestine.
Experts and international prosecutors have emphasised that states cannot be charged with war crimes; only individuals are subject to such charges.
Emily Crawford, an international law expert at the University of Sydney, explained to AAP FactCheck, “The International Criminal Court (ICC) is only authorised to investigate and prosecute individuals, not states, under the Rome Statute.”
Melanie O’Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, said that disputes between states over breaches of international law are handled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), not through criminal prosecution.
“States exist outside the criminal legal system; their disputes are adjudicated based on obligations under treaties or conventions,” she told AAP FactCheck.
This distinction highlights the difference between individual accountability in the ICC and state disputes resolved in the ICJ.
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) in the International Criminal Court (ICC) says it is only authorised to investigate individuals under the jurisdiction of the court, as set out in the Rome Statute.
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