Palestinians and the International Criminal Court: What You Need to Know
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Version 0 of 1. Q. What is the International Criminal Court? A. It is an institution formally established in 2002 to prosecute suspected perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes including aggression. Countries and states around the world — 123 at last count — have acceded to its charter, the Rome Statute, and accepted its jurisdiction. Though most Western nations have done so, the United States has not ratified the statute, and critics say Washington supports the court only when its actions suit America’s foreign policy agenda. Israel, like Russia and nearly 30 other countries, originally supported the establishment of the court, but has not ratified the statute. Q. What is its jurisdiction? A. According to the statute, the court’s jurisdiction limited to crimes committed after July 1, 2002, or after the date when the country in question adheres to the treaty. Cases can be referred to the court by national governments or by the United Nations Security Council. Because the United States, a permanent member of the Council, ,would be unlikely to allow it to refer a case against Israel, the Palestinians hope to bring cases directly to the court. By adhering to the treaty, though, the Palestinian Authority also opens the door for others to bring cases against it and against Hamas, the militant Islamic group that dominates the Gaza Strip. Q. Could the Palestinians bring cases against Israel over events that happened before it signed the treaty? A. Experts are debating whether the court’s jurisdiction would start from the date of the court’s creation, or from the date in 2012 when the United Nations General Assembly upgraded Palestine’s status to that of a nonmember observer state, or only after the Palestinians completed the formal process of joining the court in April. The Palestinians have sought a retroactive investigation of the conflict in Gaza last year dating to April 2014, to coincide with the period reviewed by a United Nations Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry. In a report issued in June, that commission took pains to be evenhanded, finding evidence of war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants. The report could serve as a road map for a preliminary examination underway since January by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, who described it as a required procedure. The Palestinians said on Wednesday that they would present their own files to the court regarding Israeli crimes, and are likely to incorporateparts of the 217-page report. Hoping to pre-empt the United Nations report, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued its own report defending its conduct. Q. What might the Palestinians ask the court to investigate? A. The Palestinians say that Israel’s occupation of lands beyond the 1967 armistice lines, its construction of settlements in occupied territory, and the way it uses military force amount to illegal aggression and war crimes. Since the international criminal court prosecutes individuals, not countries, the Palestinians will hand over names of Israelis accused of committing crimes between April 2014 andApril 2015, officials said. Israel could also bring a case against the Palestinians for firing rockets at civilian targets in Israel. Q. Why is this step important for the Palestinians? A. As they pursue statehood, the Palestinians see the court as a powerful tool to bring to bear international pressure on Israel after decades of failed peace negotiations and fitful progress at the United Nations. In December, the Security Council rejected a draft resolution that would have demanded an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory by 2017. Q. What political fallout is expected? A. To punish Palestinians for initially seeking to join the court, Israel withheld millions of dollars in tax revenues it was meant to transfer to the Palestinian Authority, causing sharp budget shortfalls. The White House said President Obama assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in January that “the Palestinian Authority does not yet constitute a state, and is therefore not eligible” to join the court. Washington has repeatedly warned the Palestinians that joining the court will lead to sanctions, and the United States may cut off $400 million in annual aid. The United States and Israel argue that a unilateral action like joining the I.C.C. before a negotiated solution that would establish a permanent Palestinian state are a violation of the Oslo Accords. But the step is expected to be well received by the Palestinian public, and to shore up the standing of the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, whose popularity plummeted after the summer conflict in Gaza. In a December poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, four-fifths of respondents favored joining more international organizations, and three-fourths approved of joining the International Criminal Court. International human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have also urged Mr. Abbas to join the court. |