PM Netanyahu condemns ICC, says will fight against its decision

Tel Aviv: On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described a ruling by the International Criminal Court as “pure anti-Semitism,” hours after judges at the ICC ruled that the court had jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories paved the way for a possible criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked the court for her legal opinion on whether the area is occupied by the territory to Israel, after announcing in December 2019 that she wanted to start a full investigation.

The ICC said in a statement that judges ‘by a majority’ decided that 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, East -Jerusalem included. ”

Palestine is a party to the court and joined in 2015, but Israel is not a member.

The court added that its ruling was not a ruling on Palestinian ‘state capture,’ but that it followed from Palestine’s position as a state party, under the ICC’s founding of the Rome Statute.

“The chamber does not adjudicate a boundary dispute under international law and does not favor the demand for future boundaries,” he said.

The decision prompted quick reactions from both Israel, which is not a member of the court and rejected its jurisdiction and the Palestinian Authority, which welcomed the ruling.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the ICC as a “political body,” while the United States said it had “serious concerns” about the decision. The Palestinians called it a “victory for justice.”

Netanyahu said, “the ICC refuses to investigate brutal dictatorships such as Iran and Syria, which commit atrocities almost daily.”

“The tribunal has once again proved that it is a political body and not a judicial institution,” Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that the decision undermines the “right of democracies to defend themselves against terrorism.”

We will fight this perversion of justice with all our might !. ‘

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office was studying the decision and would decide what to do “strictly guided by its independent and impartial mandate” to prosecute serious war crimes and atrocities when countries cannot or do not want to not.

Bensouda ruled in December 2019 that “war crimes are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”

She cites both the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups such as Hamas as possible perpetrators.

On Friday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called on the ICC to expedite litigation over the 2014 conflict in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian prisoners and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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

‘Serious coming.’

The U.S. State Department said the court should not bind Israel because it is not a member.

“We are seriously concerned about the ICC’s efforts to exercise jurisdiction over Israeli personnel. We have always taken the view that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it or are referred by the UN Security Council,” Ned said. Price, a foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters.

However, Human Rights Watch said the verdict was “crucial,” adding that it was high time Israeli and Palestinian perpetrators of the most severe abuses were given justice.

“The ICC’s ruling ultimately offers victims of serious crimes a real hope for justice after half a century of impunity,” Balkees Jarrah, co-international judge director at HRW, said in a statement.

The ICC’s Bensouda, who retires in June, has called on Biden’s government to lift sanctions against the court.