By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM / GAZA (Reuters) – Many Palestinians see a decision by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a late chance for justice for the victims of Israeli attacks.
But for many Israelis, Friday’s decision is worrisome because they say it is the “good guys” who defend themselves from Palestinian violence.
The decision, issued by a pre-trial chamber of three ICC judges, could lead to criminal investigations by Israel and Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas. No investigation was expected in the near future, however.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would now examine the decision and pointed to the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and militant groups in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the 2018 Gaza border protests and Israeli settlements in the occupied territory.
In Khan Younis, Gaza, Palestinian Tawfiq Abu Jama said 24 members of his extended family were killed in an Israeli air strike during the seven-week conflict in 2014 – in which among the dead were 2,100 more Palestinians, many of them civilians. like 67 Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians.
Abu Jama said he considered the ICC’s decision to be “possible justice that came late and better than ever … we don’t trust Israeli courts”.
An investigation into Khan Younis’s attack, conducted by the judicial arm of the Israeli army, concluded that it was legal and targeted a militant.
On the Israeli side of the border, Israeli Gadi Yarkoni, who lost both legs in a Palestinian mortar attack during the same war, said he was irritated by the decision.
“We are the good guys here, we don’t shoot to kill innocent children, but they shoot at us to kill civilians,” said Yarkoni, who is head of the Eshkol Regional Council, on the border with Gaza. “I cry for every civilian killed in Gaza and the West Bank, but we are defending our borders.”
The two sides agreed on one thing – neither expects a quick outcome from the ICC.
An Israeli official who requested anonymity said “it is not as if the arrest warrants are issued tomorrow morning”, adding that Israel would coordinate steps with Washington over the court’s decision.
The official described the decision as political.
PROBLEMS AHEAD
Diana Buttu, an international lawyer and former legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Palestinians still face many obstacles.
“The road to real justice is a long one, as the ICC will undoubtedly face political pressure not to proceed,” said Buttu.
She said it was not the first time that an international court had ruled Israeli acts illegal and previously “the world has done nothing in response”.
The ICC decision was just three weeks after the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, during which the United States imposed sanctions on two ICC officials, including Bensouda.
After the inauguration of US President Joe Biden last month, the State Department said Washington would “completely revise” Trump-era sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday’s decision was anti-Semitic and that Israel “would fight this perversion of justice with all of our strength”.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said it was a “historic day” and that Israel had already been treated “above the law”.
But the Palestinians are not exempt from the court’s scrutiny. Hamas, designated by Israel and the West as a terrorist organization, has been accused of intentionally attacking civilians and using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
But a Hamas official in Gaza welcomed the decision and said he was not afraid of an investigation.
“Hamas’ resistance and the resistance of the Palestinian people are legitimate and consistent with international humanitarian law,” said spokesman Hazem Qassem.
The Israeli military (IDF) said they regret the decision of the ICC and will continue to defend the security of Israel and its citizens “as long as they fully adhere to the IDF Code of Ethics, IDF values and national and international laws”.
(Additional reporting by Rami Amichay on the Israel-Gaza border, Ali Sawafta and Zainah El-Haroun in Ramallah and Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem; Editing by Stephen Farrell and Timothy Heritage)