The Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, has announced that she wants to open a full investigation into possible "War crimes" in the Palestinian territories, without however naming their authors. "I am convinced that there is a reasonable basis for initiating an investigation into the situation in Palestine" and "That war crimes have been committed or are being committed in the West Bank, in particular in East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip", said Fatou Bensouda in a press release, Friday, November 20.
However, she asked the ICC to " to express oneself (Formerly) as to the scope of the territorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the situation in Palestine ". "In particular, I asked him to comment on the "territory" over which the Court can exercise its jurisdiction, and which can be the subject of an investigation, namely whether it includes the West Bank, in particular East Jerusalem, and Gaza, continued Mme Bensouda. It is imperative that judges rule on the issue of the territory in which I can investigate before I even begin the investigation. "
Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary investigation in January 2015 into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the wake of the 2014 Gaza war. 2,251 people died in the conflict among Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 74 on the Israeli side, mainly soldiers. A full investigation could lead to the indictment of some people, but not of states.
"A dark day for justice", according to Netanyahu
This decision by Mme Bensouda "Transformed the ICC into a political tool to delegitimize the State of Israel", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately reacted, adding that it was a "Dark day for truth and justice". Israel is not a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to try the worst atrocities in the world.
The United States has also reacted virulently. "We strongly oppose this and any other action that unjustly targets Israel", American Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "In taking this step, the prosecutor expressly recognizes that there are serious legal questions about the authority of the Court to conduct an investigation", he added.
The Palestinians, however, welcomed the announcement. "The State of Palestine welcomes this step, which should have been taken a long time ago (…) in order to reach an investigation after almost five long and difficult years of preliminary examination ", the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The possibility of such an investigation is a particularly sensitive subject. In 2018, John Bolton, then White House national security adviser, threatened to have the ICC judges arrested if they acted against Israel and the United States, which is not a member either. Fatou Bensouda, who is due to leave the ICC in 2021, has been criticized for several months after the failure of several cases she oversees. Several high-profile suspects were released, including former Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo, in January 2019.
