Hesitating to take a position on reporting against Israeli leaders

The review once morest Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Chief of Defense Herzi Halevi and former Chief of Defense Benny Gantz was delivered to the National Prosecutor’s Office for Efforts Against Organized and Other Serious Crime (NAST) in November.

NAST also deals with cases related to war crimes, crimes once morest humanity and genocide, either committed once morest Norwegian citizens in other countries or by persons who are on Norwegian soil.

The Norwegian branch of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the organization Defend the People’s Court was behind the report, which was delivered on behalf of around 300 Norwegian citizens who were in the Gaza Strip when Israel launched its attacks in October.

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NAST initially forwarded the report to Kripos for assessment.

Communications adviser Axel Wilhelm Due in Kripos informs NTB that their assessment has been sent to NAST. They are the ones who will take the final decision on whether an investigation should be launched into the Israeli leaders.

– This case is being processed by us, and it will take some time before we have an assessment in the case, adviser Sofie Hvide in NAST tells NTB.

Universal Jurisdiction

Law professor Terje Einarsen at the University of Bergen is chairman of ICJ Norway. He believes that Norway can invoke universal jurisdiction, even if the suspects do not reside in Norway.

– If the act is committed once morest a Norwegian citizen or a foreigner who is legally resident in Norway, and it is a serious act, Norway has jurisdiction, he tells NTB.

When asked why a report has not also been filed once morest Hamas leaders following the attack on Israel on 7 October, he points out that none of the victims of this attack were Norwegian citizens.

– This is explained in the report and is due to the fact that no information has emerged that the attack on 7 October involved Norwegian victims, which would have given Norway jurisdiction, he says.

Urges Norway

The head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Israel and Palestine, Navi Pillay, urged earlier this year Norwegian police to initiate an investigation into possible Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, hair concluded that there is reason to believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The UN’s highest legal body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also believes that it is likely that the Palestinians in Gaza may be subjected to genocide and has opened a case.

Israel rejects accusations of war crimes and genocide and claims the country’s forces comply with the international law of war.

We be weird

If NAST drops the case, it will be strange, Einarsen believes.

– The case concerns a number of very serious acts with the highest penalty under the law. They have affected a large number of Norwegian citizens, including more than a hundred Norwegian children, he says.

– These are weighty considerations. At the same time, it is virtually impossible that Palestine is able to investigate or that Israel is willing to do so, says Einarsen.

– It is also very important that the Norwegian Palestinians feel that they are looked following by the Norwegian legal system on an equal basis with others, he emphasises.

Strong contrast

Law professor Gentian Zyberi at the University of Oslo agrees. He refers, among other things, to the fact that Albanese has asked UN member states to fulfill their obligations according to the principles of universal jurisdiction.

– These senior Israeli officials do not enjoy immunity in Norwegian courts, Zyberi points out in a column in the online newspaper Uniforum.

He finds it striking that the prosecution’s processing of the report once morest Gallant, Herzl and Gallant has taken so long.

This is in stark contrast to the swift and active commitment to investigate and provide assistance to the Ukrainian authorities and the ICC in the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, Zyberi points out.

– If Norwegian law enforcement authorities, including NAST, want to avoid accusations of double standards, they should immediately start an investigation into the situation in Gaza and bring charges once morest those who are most responsible for the ongoing crimes once morest humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories, he believes.