Israel and Palestine
This is big news: The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories and thus clears the way for a war crimes probe of Israeli actions there. (SMH)
The ICC judges said their decision was based on the fact that Palestine has been granted membership to the tribunal’s founding treaty, and had referred the situation to the court. The judges said the jurisdiction decision does not imply any attempt to determine Palestinian statehood, which is uncertain, or national borders.
“The court’s territorial jurisdiction in the situation in Palestine ... extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
They had found in December 2019 that there was a “reasonable basis” to open a probe into potential war crimes “in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip”.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the ruling meant it was “historic day for [the] principle of accountability”. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said it was a “victory for justice and humanity.”
Predictably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the decision and vowed to fight “this perversion of justice.”
I have many blogs on the issue of Israel and Palestine and many essays on WAR:
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