Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh smiles after delivering a speech in Gaza City April 30, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.

JNS.org – An Israeli human rights organization has filed a request at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, asking the organization to investigate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for exploiting thousands of Palestinian children in the terror organization’s quest to destroy Israel.

The Jerusalem Institute of Justice brought testimonies to the court showing that Hamas used children under the age of 15 for military purposes, as soldiers and to carry out terror attacks on Israeli civilians.

It also accused Haniyeh of continually using children as human shields and knowingly placing them in harm’s way during military escalations with Israel, putting them in areas he believed the Israel Defense Forces to be targeting.

Hamas has abused 17,000 Arab children since 2016, according to the organization.

The charges were filed by Jerusalem Institute of Justice attorney Uri Morad, who said he believes the case will be treated fairly and seriously by the ICC.