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With Sinwar dead, the ICC must stop or suspend Israel’s prosecution
Joel Margolis
October 24, 2024

What should a prosecutor do when the key defendants die before trial? In May 2024, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan formally asked the court to approve arrest warrants for certain leaders of Hamas and Israel. However, now that Hamas mastermind Yahya Sinwar has died, none of the Hamas leaders named in the arrest warrants is alive. Khan may now terminate the entire prosecution or seek arrest warrants for additional Hamas commanders. If he rejects these options and decides to proceed solely with a trial against Israel, he would risk violating the ICC’s enabling treaty, known as the Rome Statute. Instead, Khan should ensure that no Israeli leader is prosecuted until and unless Hamas is first held accountable for its war crimes. READ MORE