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| ==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
| *{{cite book |last1=Adem |first1=Seada Hussein |title=Palestine and the International Criminal Court |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-6265-291-0 |language=en}} | *{{cite book |ref = harv|last1=Adem |first1=Seada Hussein |title=Palestine and the International Criminal Court |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-6265-291-0 |language=en}} | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
Revision as of 13:08, 23 February 2020
On 20 December 2019, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced an investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Background
A preliminary investigation had been ongoing since 2015. Israel is not a member of ICC, but the State of Palestine was allowed to join in 2015. Israel has argued that the court does not apply to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because Palestine is not a state, as Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit argued in a brief released hours before Bensouda's announcement.
On three previous occasions, Bensouda has refused to open investigations against Israel related to the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.
Report
According to Bensouda, the criteria for a full investigation had all been met, but jurisdiction had not been established. Bensouda stated, "I am satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip".
According to Bensouda's report, the Israeli judicial system already makes provision for punishing those accused of war crimes—meaning that the ICC may not have jurisdiction over alleged Israeli violations. Bensouda also found "a reasonable basis to believe that members of Hamas and Palestinian armed groups" are guilty of war crimes, but these groups have no mechanism for punishing such violations.
Israel is accused of illegally establishing West Bank settlements and violating the laws of war during the 2014 Gaza War, including claims of targeting Red Cross installations. Armed Palestinian organizations, including Hamas, are accused of deliberately attacking Israeli civilians and using Palestinians as human shields.
Reactions
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the investigation as "a black day for truth and justice" and "pure antisemitism", while Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth denounced "The Hague's hypocrisy" in a headline. In an interview with Times of Israel Bensouda described the charge of antisemitism as "a particularly regrettable accusation that is without merit" and emphasized that the court strives to be fair and impartial.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated, "We firmly oppose this and any other action that seeks to target Israel unfairly." Australia argued that the issues should be resolved by negotiation, while Germany stated that it trusts the court and wants to avoid politicising the case. Hungary announced that it agrees with Israel's arguments about jurisdiction.
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement declaring that "Palestine welcomes this step as a long overdue step to move the process forward towards an investigation, after nearly five long and difficult years of preliminary examination".
Further reading
- Adem, Seada Hussein (2019). Palestine and the International Criminal Court. Springer. ISBN 978-94-6265-291-0.
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External links
References
- ^ Ahren, Raphael (23 December 2019). "The Hague vs. Israel: Everything you need to know about the ICC Palestine probe". Times of Israel. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "ICC to probe alleged war crimes in Palestinian areas, pending jurisdiction". Reuters. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ Beaumont, Peter (20 December 2019). "ICC to investigate alleged Israeli and Palestinian war crimes". The Guardian.
- "ICC Prosecutor gives Hague Court Israel's brief". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- Ahren, Raphael. "ICC prosecutor: Netanyahu's anti-Semitism charge is 'particularly regrettable'". Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- Ahren, Raphael. "Australia rejects ICC Palestine probe; Germany warns against politicization". Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- "Backing Israel, Hungary says it opposes potential ICC probe of Jewish state". Times of Israel. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.