The British barrister Karim Khan knew when he announced he was seeking arrest warrants against leaders of Israel and Hamas that he was stepping into a political minefield.
But as chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) — as well as someone from a persecuted minority whose own parents were once attacked in a Yorkshire town hall — he insists he had no choice.
“What this comes down to is, ‘Do we want to live in a world where law is applied equally or one where we close our eyes and turn away because of our allegiances?’ ” he said.
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, this week
RAMI ZOHOD/REUTERS
“Of course one is aware that Gaza is on the faultline of international relations but that cannot be an excuse not to try everywhere