Court to Look Into Possible Israeli War Crimes in Palestinian Territories
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Version 0 of 1. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court opened a preliminary examination on Friday of possible war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, the first formal step that could lead to charges against Israelis. Palestinian officials welcomed the announcement of the inquiry by the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, who described it as required procedure. Israeli officials reacted furiously, calling it an inflammatory action in the protracted dispute with the Palestinians over Israeli-occupied lands. Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said he would recommend that his government not cooperate with the inquiry. He also said Israel would seek to disband the court, which he described as an anti-Israel institution that “embodies hypocrisy and grants a tailwind to terrorism.” The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “Palestine considers this as an important positive step toward achieving justice and ensuring respect for international law.” Accusing Israel of “systematic and blatant” breaches of international law, including during the Gaza war last summer, the statement added, “Ending this impunity is an important contribution to upholding universal values, ensuring accountability and achieving peace.” Ms. Bensouda’s announcement came a few weeks after President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, over the strong objections of Israel and the United States, signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court in The Hague, and formally accepted its jurisdiction. Those actions made the nonmember United Nations observer state of Palestine the 123rd member of the court, which prosecutes war crimes and other atrocities. The announcement, which had been expected, did not necessarily signal that Ms. Bensouda would pursue charges in her investigation of actions by Israel that the Palestinians assert to be war crimes, most notably the deadly attacks and destruction in the 50-day Gaza war. Her preliminary examination, which could take months or even years, could also lead to charges against Palestinians for violence against Israelis, including the rocket assaults on Israeli civilians from militants based in Gaza. In her announcement, posted on the court’s website, Ms. Bensouda said her office would “conduct its analysis in full independence and impartiality.” Still, the investigation, infused with internationally recognized legality and credibility, was one that the Israelis had sought to prevent. “It’s like she turned the key in the ignition of the judicial vehicle,” Richard Dicker, director of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, said of Ms. Bensouda. The immediate effect appeared to be raising the antipathy between Israelis and the Palestinians, whose relations already face increasing strains tied to the long-paralyzed diplomacy aimed at a two-state solution to their conflict. In a statement released, unusually, on Friday evening, after the start of the Jewish Sabbath, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel called the announcement “scandalous,” coming a week after four Jews were killed in a terrorist attack in France. Framing Israel as a victim of terrorism, Mr. Netanyahu called the announcement “all the more absurd” because it had come at the behest of the Palestinian leadership, which he said was in alliance with Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group “whose war criminals fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians.” The Palestinian Authority leadership and Hamas, longtime rivals, signed a reconciliation pact last spring and jointly backed a new government. Mr. Lieberman accused the court of acting out of “anti-Israel, political considerations.” Rights experts disputed the official Israeli characterization of Ms. Bensouda’s action. “What a preliminary examination means is that she’s looking at alleged crimes committed by both Israelis as well as Palestinians,” Mr. Dicker said. “This just isn’t an open door or invitation to look exclusively at the Israeli side.” Mr. Lieberman dismissed the notion that the court would look at both sides, asserting that the prosecutor’s declaration was a “cover.” Another Israeli official said that at this stage, the court proceedings were more of a political issue than a legal one for Israel. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, the official said Israel was “fairly confident” that it would not be prosecuted for war crimes, since it has a well-respected judiciary of its own and is making a “real effort” to investigate its actions in Gaza last summer. But the court’s involvement, he added, was only likely to drive a deeper wedge between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Abbas had threatened for more than two years to use Palestine’s nonmember observer state status at the United Nations, attained in November 2012, to join the court. Palestinian officials have described joining the court as part of a shift in strategy by Mr. Abbas to pressure Israel — a strategy that also includes seeking a deadline, at the United Nations, for Israeli withdrawal from lands occupied after the 1967 war. The Israeli government froze Palestinian tax revenue after Mr. Abbas began the formal process of joining the court. The United States, which has called Palestinian membership in the court counterproductive, has warned that American aid to the Palestinian Authority could also be imperiled. In a statement released on Friday night, Jeff Rathke, a State Department spokesman, said: “We strongly disagree with the I.C.C. prosecutor’s action today. As we have said repeatedly, we do not believe that Palestine is a state and therefore we do not believe that it is eligible to join the I.C.C. It is a tragic irony that Israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinized by the I.C.C.” |