War Crimes Court Starts Palestine Probe Despite U.S. and Israel Objection

Monica Cantilero Sunday, January 18, 2015

Palestinians warm themselves by a fire as they sit in a makeshift shelter outside their house, which witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, on a stormy day in the east of Gaza City on Jan. 8, 2015. | REUTERS/Mohamed Salem

The International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) has opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine even as Israel and the U.S. expressed their disagreement.

I.C.C. prosecutor Fatou Bensouda decided to begin such a review following the Palestinian government's accession to the Rome Statute -- the treaty establishing the said tribunal -- and its acceptance of I.C.C.'s jurisdiction "over alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014."

"The Office will conduct its analysis in full independence and impartiality," the I.C.C. said on Friday.

The I.C.C. clarified that the examination serves to determine if there is a basis to launch an investigation. "A preliminary examination is not an investigation but a process of examining the information available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to the criteria established by the Rome Statute," said the I.C.C.

The I.C.C. added that no timeline is provided in the Rome Statute for the decision. "There are no timelines provided in the Rome Statute for a decision on a preliminary examination. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each situation, the Office will decide whether to continue to collect information to establish a sufficient factual and legal basis to render a determination; initiate an investigation, subject to judicial review as appropriate; or decline to initiate an investigation."

Earlier this month, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that Palestine will join the I.C.C. on April 1, which will allow Palestinians to pursue charges against Israel in the I.C.C.

The I.C.C.'s Office of the Prosecutor considers Palestine a state after it was granted observer state status by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the I.C.C.'s move to launch the inquiry on Saturday, describing it as "absurd." He also said that the decision's "ultimate folly" is that the court will investigate Israel which, Voice of America reported, is a "world leader in fighting terrorism."

Israel's ally, the U.S., echoed a similar disagreement. "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.," a press statement by the U.S. State Department said.

"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. The place to resolve the differences between the parties is through direct negotiations, not unilateral actions by either side. We will continue to oppose actions against Israel at the I.C.C. as counterproductive to the cause of peace," the U.S. State Department statement said.