A Palestinian envoy to the UN has called on member states to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ensure accountability for the decades of crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
Addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Loureen Sayej, diplomat and legal adviser at the Mission of the State of Palestine to the UN, said that "war criminals should be the ones sanctioned," while prosecutors, judges and UN personnel who seek justice "must be shielded and protected."
"War criminals should not be celebrated or welcomed, and victims of atrocity crimes should not be punished for seeking the justice they deserve," she added.
Sayej described the ICC's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as "the beginning of a path to end Israeli impunity," saying the court "applied the law" and "did its part to hold perpetrators of crimes accountable."
"The verdict is not a Palestinian verdict but a universal one, a legal one," she stressed.
77 years with no accountability
She accused Israeli officials of acting with impunity for over seven decades, citing "illegal occupation, annexation, torture, settlements, apartheid, systematic killings and mass confinement" and alleged that they are "betting they will get away with genocide."
"For 77 years, not a single Israeli official was held accountable for the crimes against the Palestinian people. Where do we go if not to the ICC, our last resort?
"But we will not allow it," she stressed.
Sayej urged the international community and ICC member states to support and protect Palestinian civil society and ensure victims’ access to justice.
"The State of Palestine will continue cooperating with the ICC for the sake of all victims and for the sake of international justice," she said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Judge Tomoko Akane, president of the ICC, urged UN member states to uphold their obligations under the Rome Statute and assist in the execution of outstanding arrest warrants.
Presenting the ICC's 2025 Annual Report to the UN, Akane told the UN General Assembly that 33 publicly known arrest warrants remain unexecuted.
