In a landmark decision, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) say the body has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in Palestine, opening the door to possible criminal charges against Israel.
The ruling comes two years after the ICC’s chief prosecutor found that, “war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled the ICC decision “pure anti-Semitism” and rejected its claim of jurisdiction, as did the United States.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and has argued the court has no jurisdiction over the Occupied Territories because Palestine is not an independent state. But the ICC judges rejected that argument.
Human rights lawyer Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, told Democracy Now! on February 8: “Israel has been always been treated above the law. There is no accountability when it comes to Israel.
“Today, [the US] cannot do anything to protect Israel. And as a result, Israel has to be treated as a war criminal.”
The ICC is expected to examine Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza, in which 2100 Palestinians died.
“Israel, for the first time ever in history, will be in the most important court on Earth, being charged of war crimes, crimes against humanity and persecution for Palestinian civilians, said Sourani.
“And it will be held accountable, hopefully, at least in five cases: one, the blockade on the Gaza Strip; the second on the settlement policies; three, on the offensive on the Gaza Strip 2014; [fourthly] the pillage; and [fifthly] the Great March of Return.”
Read the article by Susan Price in Green Left.