ICC begins war crimes probe in Palestinian territories

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Wednesday she launched a formal inquiry into alleged crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move strongly opposed by Israel. Fatou Bensouda said in a statement the inquiry will be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor”.

“Today, I confirm the initiation by the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of an investigation respecting the situation in Palestine,” Bensouda said, adding it will specifically look at allegations since June 13, 2014. The Palestinian Authority (PA) welcomed the prosecutor’s investigation. It is “a long-awaited step that serves Palestine’s tireless pursuit of justice and accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian people seek and deserve”, the PA foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hamas also praised the ICC’s move and defended its own actions. “We welcome the ICC decision to investigate Israeli occupation war crimes against our people. It is a step forward on the path of achieving justice for the victims of our people,” Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Reuters news agency. “Our resistance is legitimate and it comes to defend our people. All international laws approve legitimate resistance,” said Qassem. “The ICC reached a decision which is the essence of anti-Semitism,” Netanyahu said in the video posted on Twitter.

Omar Awadallah, head of the UN human rights department in the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs, said Israeli officials should be concerned by the probe. “We understand that Netanyahu and his war criminals should be afraid now from this important body and this important stance by the International Criminal Court,” Awadallah said. Though this has “nothing to do with the issue of statehood”, it still means the “era of impunity” for Israeli officials is coming to an end, he said.

Troubled region

Bensouda said in 2019 there was a “reasonable basis” to open war crimes probe into Israeli military actions in the besieged Gaza Strip, as well as Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. She also named armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas as possible perpetrators. Following that assessment, Bensouda asked judges to rule on the extent of the court’s jurisdiction in the troubled region. The ICC ruled in February it had jurisdiction over the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories that Israel captured during the 1967 Middle East war. Judges said their decision was based on jurisdictional rules in The Hague-based court’s founding documents, and it does not imply any attempt to determine statehood or legal borders. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has rejected its jurisdiction.