Qatar presses ICC over Israel's Doha attack, pursues legal avenues

Qatar’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, met with International Criminal Court (ICC) President Judge Tomoko Akane in The Hague on September 17, as Doha intensifies efforts to hold Israel accountable for what it describes as an unlawful armed attack.

The meeting, reported by AFP and confirmed by a Qatari official, comes as part of a wider diplomatic and legal push. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, condemned the attack as a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

As an ICC observer state, Qatar cannot directly refer cases to the court. However, following emergency talks in Doha earlier this week, Arab and Islamic blocs urged member states to pursue “all possible legal and effective measures” to curb Israel’s actions.

After his meeting with Judge Akane, Al-Khulaifi wrote on X that his visit was part of the mandate of a team tasked with exploring legal avenues in response to Israel’s “unlawful armed attack on the State of Qatar.”

By Khagan Isayev