International Criminal Court Opens Investigation Into Situation in Palestine
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Pawel Gaul/iStock/Thinkstock(THE HAGUE, Netherlands) — The International Criminal Court has opened a preliminary investigation into the situation in Palestine, an inquiry that could lead to charges against Palestinian and Israeli officials.
In announcing the investigation, the ICC states definitively that Palestine is a member state, thus allowing them to bring war crimes allegations against Israeli officials. Palestine, the Jerusalem Post says, previously tried to bring such charges, but was unable to do so, as only member states can see intervention from the court.
The Post notes that the announcement does not necessarily mean that war crimes trials are imminent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the investigation “absurd,” according to the Post, and that “we do not believe that ‘Palestine’ is a state and therefore do not believe that it is eligible to join the ICC.” He further called it “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 ICC.”
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