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International prosecutors convene in Israel to document Hamas crimes against humanity

The prosecutors also toured kibbutzim to see and hear stories of Hamas’s rampage.

By Troy O. Fritzhand, The Algemeiner

A delegation of prosecutors from countries that had citizens murdered or kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 gathered in Israel on Monday, in what could be a precursor to a criminal case against the Palestinian terror group.

The Israeli Justice Ministry announced the trip on Sunday, which features representatives from the United States, Germany, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Bulgaria, Japan, Australia, and Denmark.

“Following the efforts that the Justice Ministry has been leading in the international legal arena since the events of October 7, the arrival in Israel of senior members of the legal and prosecution systems operating in the international arena is another pillar in the efforts to promote the use of enforcement measures against senior Hamas officials and operatives,” said the Director General of the ministry, Itamar Donnenfeld.

On the trip, representatives toured kibbutzim that Hamas rampaged to see the scale of the damage and conducted meetings with family members of those currently being held hostage in Gaza. Donnenfeld said it “will be an opportunity to present a clear, accurate and unmediated picture of the heinous crimes that Hamas has committed, not only against Israelis, but against all of humanity.”

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The group also met with leading officials in the Justice Ministry, the government at large, and Israeli representatives fighting the International Court of Justice’s genocide case against the Jewish state.

On the same day, new Foreign Minister Israel Katz participated in the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union meeting. The ministry said before the visit that “Minister Katz will discuss with his counterparts the urgency of defeating Hamas and returning all hostages unconditionally.”

Katz added, “We are continuing a diplomatic campaign to support the heroic IDF soldiers and defeat Hamas. At the meetings in Belgium, I will work to mobilize the European Union for pressure to return the abductees, to harm Hamas and to promote economic projects that will change the region.”

At the meeting, many of the European diplomats criticized Israel for its actions during the defensive war against Hamas. Josep Borrell, Europe’s top diplomat, said, “The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip cannot be any more dire. We must start talking about clear plans for reaching a two-state solution … What other solutions are they thinking of? Getting all the Palestinians to leave? Killing them?” Representatives from France and Germany echoed Borrell’s calls for a two-state solution.

Hamas terrorists entered Israel on October 7, temporarily taking over villages and military bases en route to slaughter more than 1,200 civilians and kidnapping more than 240 people from Israel and the countries represented in the meeting.