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International Criminal Court investigation in Israel/Palestine
Buidhe: /* Further reading */
On 20 December 2019, [[International Criminal Court]] chief prosecutor [[ Fatou Bensouda]] announced an investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]].<ref name="ToI" />
__NOTOC__
==Background==
A preliminary investigation had been ongoing since 2015.<ref name="Reuters" /> Israel is not a member of ICC, but the [[State of Palestine]] was allowed to join in 2015.<ref name="ToI" /><ref name="Guardian" /> Israel has argued that the court does not apply to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because Palestine [[Palestinian territories#Political status|is not a state]], as Israeli attorney general [[Avichai Mandelblit]] argued in a brief released hours before Bensouda's announcement.<ref name=Guardian>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
On three previous occasions, Bensouda has refused to open investigations against Israel related to the 2010 [[Gaza flotilla raid]].<ref></ref>
==Report==
According to Bensouda, the criteria for a full investigation had all been met, but jurisdiction had not been established.<ref name=Reuters>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Bensouda stated, "I am satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip".<ref name="Guardian" />
According to Bensouda's report, the Israeli judicial system already makes provision for punishing those accused of war crimes—meaning that the ICC may not have jurisdiction over alleged Israeli violations. Bensouda also found "a reasonable basis to believe that members of [[Hamas]] and Palestinian armed groups" are guilty of war crimes, but these groups have no mechanism for punishing such violations.<ref name="ToI" />
Israel is accused of illegally establishing West Bank settlements and violating the laws of war during the [[2014 Gaza War]], including claims of targeting Red Cross installations. Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are accused of torturing detainees and paying convicted terrorists (the [[Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund]]). Armed Palestinian organizations are accused of deliberately attacking Israeli civilians and using Palestinians as [[human shields]].<ref name="Reuters" /><ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="ToI" />
==Reactions==
Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] condemned the investigation as "a black day for truth and justice"<ref name="Guardian" /> and "pure antisemitism", while Israeli newspaper ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'' denounced "The Hague's hypocrisy" in a headline.<ref name=ToI>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
United States Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] stated, "We firmly oppose this and any other action that seeks to target Israel unfairly."<ref name="Reuters" />
The [[Palestinian Authority]] issued a statement declaring that "Palestine welcomes this step as a long overdue step to move the process forward towards an investigation, after nearly five long and difficult years of preliminary examination".<ref name="Reuters" />
==Further reading==
*Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/1sYy6ac ICC webpage on Palestine investigation]
==References==
[[Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:December 2019 events]]
[[Category:International Criminal Court investigations]]
__NOTOC__
==Background==
A preliminary investigation had been ongoing since 2015.<ref name="Reuters" /> Israel is not a member of ICC, but the [[State of Palestine]] was allowed to join in 2015.<ref name="ToI" /><ref name="Guardian" /> Israel has argued that the court does not apply to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because Palestine [[Palestinian territories#Political status|is not a state]], as Israeli attorney general [[Avichai Mandelblit]] argued in a brief released hours before Bensouda's announcement.<ref name=Guardian>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
On three previous occasions, Bensouda has refused to open investigations against Israel related to the 2010 [[Gaza flotilla raid]].<ref></ref>
==Report==
According to Bensouda, the criteria for a full investigation had all been met, but jurisdiction had not been established.<ref name=Reuters>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Bensouda stated, "I am satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip".<ref name="Guardian" />
According to Bensouda's report, the Israeli judicial system already makes provision for punishing those accused of war crimes—meaning that the ICC may not have jurisdiction over alleged Israeli violations. Bensouda also found "a reasonable basis to believe that members of [[Hamas]] and Palestinian armed groups" are guilty of war crimes, but these groups have no mechanism for punishing such violations.<ref name="ToI" />
Israel is accused of illegally establishing West Bank settlements and violating the laws of war during the [[2014 Gaza War]], including claims of targeting Red Cross installations. Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are accused of torturing detainees and paying convicted terrorists (the [[Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund]]). Armed Palestinian organizations are accused of deliberately attacking Israeli civilians and using Palestinians as [[human shields]].<ref name="Reuters" /><ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="ToI" />
==Reactions==
Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] condemned the investigation as "a black day for truth and justice"<ref name="Guardian" /> and "pure antisemitism", while Israeli newspaper ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'' denounced "The Hague's hypocrisy" in a headline.<ref name=ToI>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>
United States Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] stated, "We firmly oppose this and any other action that seeks to target Israel unfairly."<ref name="Reuters" />
The [[Palestinian Authority]] issued a statement declaring that "Palestine welcomes this step as a long overdue step to move the process forward towards an investigation, after nearly five long and difficult years of preliminary examination".<ref name="Reuters" />
==Further reading==
*Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/1sYy6ac ICC webpage on Palestine investigation]
==References==
[[Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:December 2019 events]]
[[Category:International Criminal Court investigations]]
December 25, 2019 at 04:10PM
