The information portal Ynet wrote that Israel will tell the International Criminal Court (ICC), which plans to investigate possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, that it does not recognize its jurisdiction.
According to the same source, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided after meeting with ministers and other government officials that he would not cooperate in the aforementioned investigation. Friday is the deadline for the Israeli government to respond to the ICC notification letter.
Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, the founding document of the ICC. By definition, it is not a party to the Court.
In late November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly passed a bill requiring Palestine to be recognized as a non-member observer state instead of having the status of a permanent monitoring mission, thereby giving it the right to appeal to the International Criminal Court regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On March 9, the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court sent a letter to the parties concerned, giving them one month to inform the court whether they were conducting their own investigations into suspected crimes and whether they wished to postpone the investigations of the International Criminal Court during this period.
The Palestinians have confirmed that they will cooperate with the International Criminal Court on alleged war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is an area controlled by Islamists after the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Omar Awadallah, an official of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said his side “has responded to the International Criminal Court.”
Awadala said: “As a member of the International Criminal Court, the State of Palestine will continue to cooperate fully with the court to bring justice to the victims of the Palestinian people and hold Israel accountable for its crimes.”
Netanyahu called the ICC investigation “ridiculous” on Wednesday night of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“The establishment of the Hague Court was inspired by the Nuremberg Court, where the Nazis were tried for war crimes after World War II. However, this human rights institution has actually become a tool to protect the rights of those who trample on human rights,” Netany Yahu said. This implies the militant jihadist organization Hamas.
Since Hamas gained control in 2008 (2008, 2012 and 2014), this Palestinian enclave with a population of 2 million has been the scene of three armed conflicts with Israel.
In February 2021, the International Criminal Court declared that it was qualified to handle cases in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Netanyahu later retorted that the decision “only constitutes open anti-Semitism.”
The International Criminal Court subsequently clarified: “By a majority vote, the court’s territorial jurisdiction extends to the territories occupied by Israel after 1967.”
Netanyahu said at the time: “When the International Criminal Court investigated Israel’s false war crimes, it was open anti-Semitism.”
He pointed out that the International Criminal Court said: “Netanyahu said that when a democratic country like Israel defends itself from terrorists who kill our children and blow up our city, it actually means it committed war crimes. “As he pointed out, thousands of rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip to Israel.
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