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Jordan has voiced support for the International Criminal Court after its prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, despite denunciation by Washington, a crucial ally of the kingdom.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said on Monday that he had also requested warrants for Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three top Hamas commanders, over alleged war crimes, seven months into the war in Gaza.
“No one is above the law,” Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said after meeting Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom in Amman on Tuesday.
Mr Safadi said the court and other international institutions “perform their role so justice can run its course”.
“Let this process take its scope. Everybody has to respect its decisions when they are issued,” he said.
The kingdom, which has a peace treaty with Israel, has intensified its diplomatic offensive against Israel for its actions in Gaza after international ceasefire efforts floundered in the last several months.
The country of 10 million people is dependent on the US for aid and security. Last month, it helped Israel take down missiles and rockets launched by Iran.
The kingdom, however, is calling for an investigation into “war crimes” in Gaza, with Mr Safadi saying Jordan has been doing everything it can to bring about that objective.
The Gaza war started on October 7 with an attack by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas on southern Israel in which 1,200 were killed.
More than 36,600 people have been killed in the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. War crimes allegedly committed by the two sides were the basis for Mr Khan’s request, which is still subject to review by ICC's pretrial judges.
“Nobody should speak before the court decides what it wants to do,” Mr Safadi said
On Monday, US President Joe Biden said the ICC cannot equate Israel’s actions to Hamas and described the warrant against the Israeli officials as “outrageous”.
Neither the US nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, which established the court. Jordan, however, is.
Mr Billstrom said that Sweden has reservations about putting the cases against Hamas and Israel “on the same plate”.
“You could argue whether it was a good thing to put these cases om same plate because after all Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Israel is not," Mr Billstrom said.
The court, established in 2002, has no power of its own to enforce its warrants. Among the high-profile figures it has accused of war crimes is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Putin in March last year, for crimes in Ukraine.
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
