The International Criminal Court launched an investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories, including the period covered by the Gaza war in 2014, potentially putting hundreds of Israelis – including soldiers and senior political figures – at risk of prosecution.
The long-awaited investigation, which has been fiercely resisted by Israel, comes after years of deliberations over whether the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and is expected to investigate alleged crimes committed by Israelis and Palestinians.
In announcing the start of the investigation, Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the court would investigate “crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that were supposed to have been committed” since June 13, 2014.
The Gambian lawyer added that the investigation would be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor.”
The action, which Palestinians and human rights groups say should have taken place a long time ago, was immediately condemned by Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi as “morally and legally bankrupt”.
The announcement follows a 2019 decision that there was “a reasonable basis” for a war crimes investigation and a February 5 decision that the court’s jurisdiction extends to Israel’s occupied territories since the 1967 Middle East war. That decision led to a quick rejection of Jerusalem, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemning the judges’ decision as “pure anti-Semitism”. US President Joe Biden’s government said it disagreed with the ICC’s action against Israel; however, the USA is not part of the ICC.
Although some Israeli officials have long feared that an investigation by the ICC would be inevitable, the decision sets the stage for one of the most controversial cases in the Hague court.
The investigation is expected to cover the Gaza War in 2014, the clashes on the Gaza border in 2018, as well as the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The inquiry will also examine whether the rocket fire from Hamas and other groups in Gaza is tantamount to war crimes.
“The decision to open an investigation followed a meticulous preliminary examination carried out by my office that lasted almost five years,” said Bensouda in a statement.
“In the end, our central concern must be with the victims of crimes – Palestinians and Israelis – resulting from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused profound suffering and despair everywhere,” he added.
“My office will follow the same principled, non-partisan approach that it has adopted in all situations where its jurisdiction has been taken.”
As an international court of last resort, the ICC is only empowered to examine cases where there is a complaint that local jurisdictions have failed to take action. Although Israel is not part of the ICC, the Palestinian Authority was accepted after it was decided that it was fulfilling the functions of a state.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed Wednesday’s action. “This long-awaited step serves Palestine’s vigorous effort to achieve justice and accountability as indispensable bases for peace,” said the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He called for the swift end of the investigation because “the crimes committed by the leaders of the occupation against the Palestinian people are long-lasting, systematic and far-reaching.”
Palestinians joined the court in 2015 and have long been pushing for an investigation.
In the past, Israeli officials have accused the court of exceeding its limits, saying that the Palestinians are not an independent sovereign state.
Responding to the announcement, Israeli President Reuben Rivlin described it as “scandalous”.
“We will not accept complaints against the exercise of our right and our obligation to defend our citizens. The State of Israel is a strong, Jewish and democratic state that knows how to defend itself and investigate itself when necessary.
“We are proud of our soldiers, our sons and daughters, the essence of our people, who are on guard for their country generation after generation, a wall of defense against all those who seek our evil.”
The investigation is also likely to investigate alleged crimes committed by Palestinian militants. Bensouda said his investigation would examine the actions of Hamas, which fired rockets at Israel during the 2014 war.
Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, told Reuters: “We welcome the ICC’s decision to investigate war crimes of Israeli occupation against our people. It is a step forward on the path of justice for the victims of our people.
“Our resistance is legitimate and comes to defend our people. All international laws approve legitimate resistance, ”said Qassem.
Israel blames Hamas and other militant groups for casualties in the Palestinian war, saying the militants use residential areas as cover to launch rockets and leave the military no choice but to strike back.
Bensouda said the investigation’s priorities would be “determined in due time” based on constraints, including the coronavirus pandemic, limited resources and prosecutors’ existing heavy workload.