ICC prosecutor opens a preliminary probe into possible war crimes committed by Israel. Netanyahu: This decision is scandalous.
By Elad Benari, INN
AFP reports.
The prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said her office would conduct its “analysis in full independence and impartiality”.
Her decision comes after the Palestinian Authority (PA) formally joined the ICC earlier this month allowing it to lodge war crimes and crimes against humanity complaints against Israel as of April.
At the same time, the PA also recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction retroactively, to cover the period during last summer’s war in Gaza.
“A preliminary examination is not an investigation but a process of examining theinformation available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with a (full) investigation,” Bensouda was quoted as having said.
Depending on her findings, Bensouda will decide at a later stage whether to launch or quash the investigation, based on the initial probe, the report added.
Israel condemned the decision as “scandalous”, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement that since “Palestine” is not a state, the ICC had no jurisdiction over it, according to the court’s own rules.
The probe is “absurd” since “the Palestinian Authority cooperates with Hamas, a terror group that commits war crimes, in contrast to Israel that fights terror while maintaining international law, and has an independent justice system,” Netanyahu pointed out.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman added that the sole purpose of the preliminary examination was to “try to harm Israel’s right to defend itself from terror.”
In a statement he said the decision was “solely motivated by political anti-Israel considerations,” adding that he would recommend against cooperating with the probe.
The United States has expressed its objection to the PA’s move to join the ICC, with State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki having said last week that “the United States does not believe that the state of Palestine qualifies as a sovereign state and does not recognize it as such.”
A similar comment was made by President Barack Obama in a conversation with Netanyahu earlier this week.
I asked the JP why they use “occupied” territories and not “contested” territories? No answer.
bernard ross,
Two pieces of very clear thinking.
Please go to Netanyahu and talk with him?
yamit82 Said:
I don’t believe in using diplomacy or lawfare to achieve international recognition or fair hearing. I believing in using them as tools and weapons to damage enemies and improve Israels strategic position. Using lawfare against pals, their funders, their supporters as in the US is simply employing a weapon like employing cyber warfare or like just done in the UK to stop a muslim org from raising “charity”.. Stopping their funds, preventing their supporters like obama from supporting them, coercing govs to follow their own laws already on the books which favor Israel and the jews, coercing Israeli gov into following law, etc. Success in some of these areas could save Jewish and Israeli lives. All weapons which can destroy the enemy with a minimum loss of Jewish life should be employed.
The same is true with using diplomacy aggressively, along with lawfare, to counter the libels and false claims of euro leaders. These leaders can be painted as liars and frauds if properly done. court cases brought by jewish ngo’s against politicians and govs can tie up courts and bring the arguments to the public who have been completely misinformed by their leaders. Right now citizens of many nations, including Israel, are fraudulently hoodwinked. Instead of hurling names like “scandalous” etc Liberman should call in the ambassadors and demand they cease libeling Israel with the term illegal and that instead they honor their legal obligations to the immigration and settlement of the Jewish people in the mandate terriotry. Instead of having a nebulous hurt hissy fit with sweden they should be called liars and libelers for the specific lies and libels they have performed. They should be put on the defensive to explain their actions which violate agreements and diplomacy. Calling a nations actions illegal or illegitimate is a serious stain, insult and libel. None of the gov fools deal with the specific facts which indicates their incompetence or their dishonesty.
Allow Judea and Samaria to become the second Jewish state. How many arab states are there, 22 and counting. Finally Israel will have a trustworthy ally in the region and in The World, for that matter.
My first choice for PM of Judea and Samaria is “Honeybee”.
The rest is details. No good?
@ bernard ross:
They make up and disregard their own rules hen it comes to Israel and that is the major reason why looking to International recognition or fair hearing of our position and cases should be resisted. Justice for Israel and Israels rights will receive a fair hearing from theses jokers
They are no more than a weapon to be used against us by our enemies and they should be ignored and resisted by Israel.
The ICC bypassing a judicial determination of whether the pals have a state and instead relying on the political determination of the UNGA demonstrates an immediate hostile political position of the ICC regarding sovereignty on the west bank. If Israel does not outright refuse to accept any ICC jurisdiction or refuse to allow any ICC personnel into the west bank or gaza then it is acquiescing to an ICC determination that the pals have a state on Israeli controlled land. The only answer is for Israel to assert its own control and sovereignty over the area beginning with the barring of any communication with the west bank that does not pass through israeli authority. Therefore all diplomatic contact with the PA that does not receive Israels approval should be banned simply to assert Israels interests which are being damaged by the PA, the UNGA and the ICC. The battle for the PA state must NOW be met with Israeli action or it will be deemed to be a legal determination that there is a PA state on Israeli land. it can no longer be ignored as irrelevant to legal, diplomatic and political stability Liberman and others need to stop talking and to take action, his arguments are childish and have no legal value. All ICC contact with the PA and gaza on Israeli controlled land should be completely banned all communication must be through Israel. Control and soverieignty MUST be factually asserted with action.
The Israeli government is indeed guilty of criminal stupidity and of lying against itself in support of its enemies. The admission that it is “occupying” “Palestinian” land is the key weapon used by the enemy to justify every kind of attack against Israel.
With few exceptions the corrupt Israeli leadership would rather die than to ever tell the truth that ALL THE LAND BELONGS TO ISRAEL!!
This represents a long term Jewish disease of the soul in which too many Jews want to flee from Judaism and become accepted by a very corrupt and evil world.
more merde
The IDF should launch a commando raid on the ICC, kidnap them, take them to Israel, try them for war crimes against the Jewish people (of which they are obviously guilty) and then execute them, a la Eichmann.
She should also formally annex the settlements (at least the ones close to Jerusalem) and let the PLO and Hamas know quietly that if rockets hit again from Gaza, the city will be wiped out with nukes.