A decision of the International Criminal Court empowers …

The International Criminal Court (ICC) declared itself on Friday with the power to try possible war crimes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, which opens the possibility for the public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation in this regard, A decision that has already received Palestinian support and rejection from Washington and the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ICC decision was taken by a 2: 1 majority, and in response to lead prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who in 2019 found there was a “reasonable basis” to open a war crimes investigation on Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Strip and its settlements in the West Bank, claimed by Palestine.

Likewise, Bensouda, a Gambian national, asked the court to determine whether it had territorial jurisdiction before moving the case forward, considering that Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and, therefore, is not not under the jurisdiction of the world body of Justice.

Palestine’s reaction

The court’s ruling on its jurisdiction in the occupied territories represents a “victory for justice,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said.

“This decision (of the ICC) is a victory for justice and humanity, for the values ​​of truth, fairness and freedom, and for the blood of the victims and their families,” said Shtayyeh, quoted by the agency. Wafa.

Israel’s response

In an almost immediate response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the ICC a “political tribunal”.

“Today the court has proven once again that it is a political body and not a judicial institution,” Netanyahu criticized in a statement, quoted by the AFP news agency.

In broad daylight of the Jewish Sabbath, that is to say without official activity, the Prime Minister warned that the decision of the ICC violates the “right of democracies to defend themselves against terrorism”.

For Netanyahu, the ICC “persecutes Israel, a country with a strong democratic regime, which sanctifies the rule of law and is not a member of the Court”.

In turn, US State Department spokesman Ned Price revealed Washington’s concern over the international court’s decision.

“We are very concerned about the ICC’s attempts to exercise jurisdiction over Israeli personnel. We have always believed that the jurisdiction of the Court should be limited to countries which approve or are referred to it by the Council. United Nations security, ”Price said, according to Sputnik news agency.

The United States also does not recognize the work of the ICC because it did not adhere to the Treaty of Rome, to the point that in the past it tried to prevent the corps from investigating whether its soldiers had committed atrocities in Afghanistan.

The ICC is a permanent international court of justice based in The Hague, the Netherlands, founded in 2002, whose mission is to try those accused of committing crimes of genocide, war, aggression and against the ‘humanity.

The central question was whether he could make a decision involving a country that does not recognize its jurisdiction in a dispute with another that does.

The occupied territories where they claim war crimes were committed Tensions between Israel and Palestine For Israel, Palestine is not an internationally recognized state, although since July 2015, the Palestinian Authority has been a signatory to the Rome Statute , which regulates international criminal justice. Jurisdiction also extends to the actions of Palestinian militias such as Hamas.

For the prosecutor, this debate is settled, because “Palestine has agreed to submit to the terms of the Rome Statute of the ICC and has the right to be treated like any other State Party in matters related to the implementation of the ICC. Status”.

When asked the court to define itself, Bonsouda said she was “convinced” that “war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem”. He then admitted to the “very controversial legal and factual situation” in the region.

“The jurisdiction of the Court over the situation in Palestine extends to the territories occupied since 1967”, specifies the resolution, which specifies that “the Court does not have the power to contest and review the result of the accession procedure. “.

The ruling means that investigating possible war crimes does not imply any opinion on the legal existence or not of Palestine as a state, much less a definition of its territories.

“The Chamber does not resolve a border dispute under international law or prejudge the question of future borders. The sole purpose of the judgment is to define the territorial jurisdiction of the Court,” the Hague Court said. in its press release.

The task in the future will not be the first intervention of the ICC in the region, because before starting certain procedures related to the expansion of settlements and the demolition of houses by Israel and the actions of Hamas and Jihad militias . Islamic, which fired rockets at the Israeli population at some point in the extended territorial conflict.

A possible charge against Israeli military or government officials that leads to indictments can trigger arrest warrants in any country against the accused, although for this the ICC must seek them from the security forces to each nation because the court does not have its own police.

The majority of the decision was taken with the votes of Queen Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou (from Benin) and Marc Perrin de Brichambaut (from Morocco, but a French official).

Human Rights Watch satisfaction

Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the world’s leading human rights organizations, celebrated the “crucial” decision as it is “the time for perpetrators, Israelis and Palestinians, of the most abuses. more serious “to be accountable to justice. .

“ICC ruling finally offers real hope for justice victims of serious crimes after half a century of impunity, ”said Balkees Jarrah, director of international justice for HRW in a statement quoted by AFP.