What is War Crime Watch?

War Crime Watch is an organization dedicated to uncovering Israel’s trespasses and war crimes in Palestine and the world over. Our contributors, research analysts and legal experts not only shed light on these atrocious crimes, but also submit them down every avenues of justice.

Our purpose is to be the legal radar for Israel’s war crimes, and a trusted archive for future action.

In May 2021, the ICC announced the opening of an investigation into “alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014”. This came a full six years after Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute, a process which the US and Israel worked hard to hinder, and a move which prompted the US to impose sanctions on the Chief Prosecutor at the time, Faten ben Souda.

The US has been opposed to the existence of the ICC since its founding in 2002, when it passed the Hague Invasion Law, allowing the US military to quite literally invade the Hague should the ICC prosecute any Americans. Neither Israel nor the US are signatories to the Rome Statute and have made no secret of their disdain for the Court.

Also since its establishment in 2002, the ICC has publicly indicted 52 individuals. Some of these cases resulted in convictions, some were dismissed, and some are ongoing. Yet all of the cases have one common thread: the individuals being tried are all from the Global South.

In that time, Israel has launched six wars on Palestinians, killing and imprisoning thousands of innocent men, women and children – backed by the US. The US, with the help of its allies, has launched multiple illegal wars resulting in millions of civilian deaths around the world.

In 2024, time is up. Time is up for settler colonialism, for occupation, for genocide, for ethnic cleansing, and for racist, biased double standards in every avenue of legal justice. In filing our submission with the court together with JLAC, Hurryaat and ICHR, we join a growing list of individuals, organisations, and countries calling for Israel and its allies to be held accountable.

Since October 7th and long before then, it has been made clear that the former colonial powers who wrote international law have no intention of following it. It is also clear that if, after 75 years, the legal justice system we are relying upon cannot bring about an end to Israel’s illegal settler colonial project, we must change our strategy.

We refuse the notion that Israel has any right to massacre over 30,000 innocent civilians with complete impunity, and in fact with support from its allies in the Global North.

Alongside our submission, War Crime Watch represents exactly that. For the first time, we are seeing millions of people around the world marching for justice in Palestine. By sharing evidence, witness statements, expert testimonials and legal analysis, War Crime Watch aims to arm the public with the same information the Courts will be using in considering our case.

To the victims and witnesses of these crimes, you have been our brave eyes and ears, and it’s now our turn to be your voice.