Legally it is only a formalization of form. Politically it is a bomb. Fatou Bensouda therefore confirmed, on Wednesday March 3, the opening of an investigation into crimes committed since June 2014 in the occupied Palestinian territories. Little surprise in the matter: the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already announced, in December 2019, that she would conduct an investigation. But it had previously asked the judges to rule on its territorial jurisdiction. They did so in February, thus sharing with her the weight of one of the most sensitive cases opened before the ICC.
Without delay, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, serious, denounced, Wednesday, in a televised speech, a decision “Anti-Semite” from a court “Biased”. Shortly before leading his first campaign rally, in view of the legislative elections on March 23, he promised to defend “Every soldier, every officer, every civilian” against possible prosecution.
As did the three judges of the court, in February, the prosecutor stressed, Wednesday, that her decision to investigate in the territories occupied since the war of 1967 is not intended to influence the question of the borders which “Will have to be determined by the Israeli and Palestinian authorities, during bilateral discussions with a view to an agreement.” However “It seemed crucial to us, said the prosecutor, get these details straight away [de la part des juges] so that future investigations have a solid and proven legal basis ”.
Since February, in addition to Washington, several states that have yet joined the ICC, such as Germany and Australia, had denounced the judges’ decision. The Palestinian Authority lamented their reservations on Wednesday, calling “States parties to respect their responsibilities and not to politicize the conduct of this independent investigation”.
“Disproportionate attacks”
What will the investigation be about? For now, the prosecutor has indicated that she is studying her priorities. Fatou Bensouda will complete a nine-year term at the ICC in mid-June and should therefore let her successor, Britain’s Karim Khan, decide.
However, in her report published in December 2019, the prosecutor had already identified two to three main lines, after several years of preliminary investigation. One concerns the alleged crimes committed during the 2014 summer war in Gaza both by the Israeli army, especially for its “Disproportionate attacks”, than by Hamas, for the use of human shields, homicide and torture.
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