Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Western governments for their role in Israeli crimes committed in Gaza.

In a 172-page communication submitted to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on Jan. 19, 2025, and publicly shared on Monday, the rights group accused the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other allies of actively aiding and abetting war crimes through military and diplomatic support.

The organization stressed that Western nations supplying weapons, funding, and political cover to Israel should be held accountable under international law.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military assault on Gaza has killed over 47,000 people, the majority of them women and children. The offensive has displaced most of the population, caused severe shortages of food and essential supplies, and left large parts of the enclave in ruins. A ceasefire has been in effect since January 19.

The ICC is already examining Israeli war crimes in Palestine, but DAWN emphasized the need to extend the probe to those enabling these atrocities. Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director, stated that providing arms and intelligence to Israel while ignoring its deliberate attacks on civilians makes Western governments complicit.

“Not only did Biden, Blinken, and Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel's grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities,” said Whitson.

The United Nations and multiple human rights organizations have warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza could amount to genocide. Despite mounting evidence, the U.S. and European nations continue to shield Israel from accountability, blocking ceasefire efforts and vetoing resolutions at the UN Security Council.

DAWN urged the ICC to take immediate action, warning that failure to hold perpetrators accountable would undermine the court’s credibility. The organization called on civil society groups and legal experts to push for legal consequences against those supporting Israel’s military campaign.