Table of Contents
- On 5th February, 2021, the International Criminal Court announced that it has jurisdiction in Palestine.
- The verdict will allow the ICC’s chief prosecutor to investigate alleged atrocities on Palestinians.
- The move has come under fierce objections from Israel.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his government would “protect our citizens and soldiers in every way from legal persecution”.
- The International Criminal Court(ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal.
- The ICC is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for theinternational crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
- The ICJ, on the other hand, settles disputes between countries, and is an organ of the UN.
- Headquarters: The Hague,
- Began operations in 2002, upon the entry into force of the Rome Statute, a multilateral treaty that serves as the court’s foundational and governing document.
- The ICC lacks universal territorial jurisdiction, and may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council.
- In 2012, Palestine gained the “non-member observer state” recognition in the UN – an elevation from the previous “non-member observer entity” status.
- The “State” recognition made Palestine eligible to be a member of the ICC.
- But, at that time, US, UK, and Israel persuaded the Palestinian authorities not to do so, and pursue peace through dialogue.
- The conflict lasted 7 weeks.
Casualties:
- More than 2,100 Palestinians, many of them civilians,
- 67 Israeli soldiers and 6 Israeli civilians.
- As a result, the Trump administration questioned the legitimacy of the ICC, and threatened tough action against it, including sanctions against ICC judges.
- The US also feared for ICC probe into the war crimes in Afghanistan by its military personnel (90% drone strikes missed their targets and hit civilians instead).
- In 2019, Fatou Bensouda, the ICC chief prosecutor, had announced that she intends to open a formal inquiry into alleged war crimes in Palestinian held territory.
- It included the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
- However, due to Palestine’s status as an occupied territory rather than a sovereign country, she had waited for judges to confirm if the court, had the authority.
The Current Ruling
- Now, in February 2021, the judges of the ICC confirmed that the court had jurisdiction in Palestine, through a majority decision.
- ICC Chief Prosecutor, Bensouda, has said she would investigate both the Israeli military as well as Palestinian armed groups like the Gaza-based Hamas faction.
- Hamas has been accused of “intentionally directing attacks against civilians”.
The investigations will also include:
- Incidents that occurred during the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.
- The alleged killings by Israeli soldiers of more than 200 Palestinians, including more than 40 children, at demonstrations along the Gaza frontier.
- Allegations that the Israeli authorities had committed war crimes by moving Israeli civilians into the West Bank to live in settlements.
- The internationally recognized representative government of the Palestinians – the Palestinian Authority, still wants to pursue the case.
- It would see the prosecution of Israeli officials or military figures as a significant diplomatic victory.
- The Authority is also a political rival to Hamas (Fatah-Hamas conflict since 2006).
- A Hamas official in Gaza welcomed the ruling and said it did not fear investigation.
- Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem:
- “Hamas resistance and the resistance of the Palestinian people is legitimate and consistent with International Humanitarian law.”
- The governments of Israel and the United States condemned the decision of the court.
- The Israeli government has argued in the past that as Palestine is not a fully fledged state, it should not be allowed to petition the court.
- But now the court has ruled against that.
- Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Criminal Court of “pure anti-Semitism”.
- Netanyahu may choose to block ICC officials from entering the Palestinian Territories.
- This could hamper its work because Israel controls access to the West Bank and Jerusalem.
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