Israel-Palestine at the International Criminal CourtBy Kate Ramsden On 5th February 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) “decided, by majority, that the Court's territorial jurisdiction in the situation in Palestine, a State party to the ICC Rome Statute, extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.” Israel is not a State party to the Rome Statute. This judgement, which includes potential war crimes, is described as “a major move towards ending impunity in the 53 year occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza” (UN News, 9th Feb 2021). A Foundation for Middle East Peace webinar on 25th February heard from a number of key speakers about what this means and what may happen now. They saw this as an historic decision but warned that there is still a long way to go to hold Israel accountable. The webinar can be viewed here. Hassan Jabareen of Adalah (“Justice” in Arabic), an independent human rights organisation and legal centre and Michael Kearney, Al-Haq, both highlighted the importance of the decision that the occupied territories are not “disputed territories” but the State of Palestine. Hassan warned that Israel’s Attorney General is already challenging this, claiming that the ICC is intervening in Israel’s sovereignty. Previously Israel has been left to investigate complaints itself and as Yael Stein from B’Tselem pointed out, this has not been done meaningfully. Although some crimes have been prosecuted, they have focussed on the foot soldiers and not the politicians and army chiefs who make the policies carried out by them. Therefore whilst there have been a few high profile cases, the policies (and those who make them) have not been challenged. Indeed the Israeli Supreme Court has deemed the policy of shooting unarmed protesters to be legal. https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/9522 Katie Gallagher, Center for Constitutional Rights, a lawyer who represents Palestinian victims, warned that the focus must remain on the real lived experiences of the Palestinian victims, who are pursuing justice against the odds. Israel is doing all it can to intimidate and threaten these people, and to undermine their cases. However the statements from the Palestinian victims are heart breaking and compelling and describe the arbitrary killing of adults and children as well as the denial of other rights including travel and medical care. Michael Kearney expressed the view that a key charge against Israel is its settler enterprise. He believes that Israel has no defence to contest charges relating to the structural violence of colonialism and annexation, including the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property (a war crime), displacing Palestinians and replacing them with settlers. These are crimes against humanity. He added that the settler project is also discriminatory and apartheid. There was also some discussion about the role of the United States, particularly Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on ICC staff. This relates to the ICC’s investigation of war crimes by US personnel in Afghanistan but also includes this paragraph: “I therefore determine that any attempt by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States, or of personnel of countries that are United States allies and who are not parties to the Rome Statute or have not otherwise consented to ICC jurisdiction, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.” To date, Joe Biden has not lifted this order. What can we do?
It is very important that we stay up to date with and publicise this process. We see very little of it on the mainstream media so it is up to us to make sure that as many people in Scotland know about it as possible. The legitimacy of the ICC is absolutely crucial in holding states accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity and we must ensure that it is not undermined. As Katie Gallagher said, “This is about the victims and ending a cycle of violence and oppression against the Palestinian people. Read up about it and publicise it. Follow the victims’ stories and try and put them centre stage.” Further reading from “Israel-Palestine at the International Criminal Court: What Next?” webinar https://fmep.org/resource/israel-palestine-at-the-international-criminal-court/ https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=pr1566 https://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/201903_gaza_demonstrations_investigations_charade https://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/201609_whitewash_protocol https://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/202003_position_paper_on_israel_ag_icc_memorandum https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/elor-azaria-killer-king-leading-life-luxury-israel https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20160525_occupations_fig_leaf https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/14/us-sanctions-international-criminal-court https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/9569 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/15/2020-12953/blocking-property-of-certain-persons-associated-with-the-international-criminal-court https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/9696
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