JERUSALEM (AP) – The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday launched an investigation into suspected crimes in the Palestinian territories, focusing the tribunal’s focus on Israeli military action and settlement construction on countries involved in the 1967 Middle East war was caught.
The decision embarrassed the Israeli government, which had aggressive public relations and a behind-the-scenes diplomatic campaign to stop the investigation. It also raised the possibility of issuing warrants against Israeli officials suspected of war crimes, making it dangerous to travel abroad.
“The state of Israel is being attacked tonight,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video recording. “The biased international court in The Hague has made a ruling that is at the heart of anti – Semitism and hypocrisy.”
“I promise you that we will fight for the truth until we annul this scandalous decision,” he said.
The decision of Fatou Bensouda, the outgoing prosecutor of the court, was to be expected since the court ruled last month that it has jurisdiction over the case. A preliminary investigation by Bensouda in 2019 found a ‘reasonable basis’ to open a war crime case.
In a statement, Bensouda said the investigation would investigate “crimes within the jurisdiction of the court allegedly committed” since June 13, 2014. She said the investigation was “independent, impartial and objective, without fear or favor.” The task will now be handed over to Karim Khan, the British lawyer, who will become the chief prosecutor of the court in June.
Wednesday’s ruling draws the court’s focus on two key Israeli policies of the past year: the repeated military operations against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, highlighted by a devastating war in 2014, and the expansion of Jewish settlements in the east of Jerusalem and the Occupied West Bank. Experts say Israel may be particularly vulnerable to persecution because of its settlement policies.
Although the Palestinians do not have an independent state, in 2012 they gained observer status in the UN General Assembly, allowing them to join international organizations such as the ICC. Since joining the court in 2015, they have insisted on an investigation into war crimes against Israel. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has said it is not a jurisdiction because Palestine is not a sovereign state.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers autonomous territories in the West Bank occupied by Israel, welcomed Wednesday’s move.
“This long-awaited step serves Palestine’s powerful effort to achieve justice and accountability as an indispensable basis for peace,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.
The Palestinians chose June 2014 as the start of the investigation to coincide with the run-up to Israel’s devastating Gaza war this summer.
According to UN estimates, more than 2,200 Palestinians, including nearly 1,500 civilians, were killed by Israeli fire. According to Israeli figures, at least 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed on the Israeli side.
Israel has argued that it has waged a war of self-defense against uninterrupted rockets against its cities. It blames Gaza’s Islamic militant Hamas rulers for the high civilian death toll as the group launched attacks on residential areas, which drew Israeli retaliation.
Bensouda also said her investigation would investigate the actions of Hamas, which invariably fired firearms at Israel during the 2014 war.
In Gaza, however, Hamas welcomes the start of the investigation and calls on Bensouda to “resist any pressure” that could drop the process.
“This is a step forward in implementing justice, punishing the occupation and doing justice to the Palestinian people,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told the Associated Press. He said he was confident that the rocket attacks on Israeli cities were legal under international law.
The ICC is intended to serve as a court of last resort when countries’ own legal systems are unable to investigate or prosecute war crimes.
Israel does not recognize its authority and says it has a world-class independent legal system. But Palestinians and human rights groups say Israel is incapable of conducting an investigation itself and has whitened a history of military crimes.
After the war, the military conducted dozens of investigations into the behavior of troops. Although there were only a handful of convictions on minor charges, that may be enough for the court, which dropped a similar case against British troops in Iraq last year because the British authorities were investigating.
Referring to Israel’s legal system, Bensouda said the inquiry “will allow for a continuous assessment of domestic action in accordance with the principle of complementarity.” ‘
Experts have warned that Israel could defend a more difficult time defending its settlement policy in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Settlements are generally considered illegal, based on the Geneva Convention principle that an occupying force is prohibited from transferring its population to areas captured in war. Population transfers are listed as a war crime in the founding treaty of the ICC, the Rome Statute.
After the Middle East War in 1967, Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considered the West Bank a disputed area. But its positions are not recognized internationally, and most of the world regards both areas as occupied territories.
Some 700,000 settlers currently live in the two territories, which the Palestinians, along with Gaza, are claiming for a future state. Israel says the fate of these territories must be resolved during negotiations, and that involvement with the ICC will push the Palestinians off the negotiating table.
Bensouda said the priorities in the investigation would be “determined in a timely manner” based on constraints, including the coronavirus pandemic, limited resources and the current heavy workload of prosecutors.
Although Wednesday’s ruling does not pose an immediate threat to Israel, the court has the power to quietly issue warrants to people suspected of crimes.
Netanyahu was prime minister during the Gaza war in 2014 and was a strong supporter of the settlements. His defense minister, Benny Gantz, was Israel’s military commander during the war. Israeli media have said that Israel is in touch with allies who are members of the ICC to receive warnings about potential warrants against its citizens.
In his statement, Netanyahu said Israel was being unfairly singled out. He accused the court of “wrapping up” Iran, Syria and the other dictatorships that are committing real war crimes. “
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said: “We are strongly against it and are disappointed with the ICC prosecutor’s announcement of an investigation into the Palestinian situation.”
“We will continue to maintain our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that unfairly target Israel,” Price told reporters in Washington.
International human rights groups have praised the decision as a step towards justice for Israeli and Palestinian victims.
“The court’s overcrowded pocket should not deter the prosecutor’s office from bringing cases against someone who is credibly involved in such crimes,” said Balkees Jarrah, co-international judge director at Human Rights Watch.
“ICC member states must be ready to fiercely protect the court’s work from political pressure,” she said.
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Corder reported from The Hague, The Netherlands. Tariffs Akram in the city of Gaza, the Gaza Strip, contributed.