Palestinian shift brings war crimes case closer to Israel

[4now]

THE HAGUE/JERUSALEM: The possibility of a war crimes investigation into the conduct of Israeli forces in Gaza, until recently unthinkable, has grown after the Palestinians said this week they wanted to become a party to the International Criminal Court.
The world’s permanent war crimes court in The Hague declined two years ago to investigate allegations against the Israeli military in 2008-2009, citing the uncertain legal status of the Palestinian Authority.
A lot has changed since then.
Fresh allegations of war crimes have flowed in recent weeks from fighting in Gaza, where Israel responded to a surge in rocket attacks by Hamas militants with air strikes and a ground incursion. The Palestinians this week unexpectedly said they are just one procedural step away from ICC membership.
The legal groundwork for such a move was laid in Nov 2012 when the 193-member UN. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine by upgrading the Palestinian Authority’s observer status to “non-member state” from “entity.”
If the Palestinians were to sign the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, the court would have jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/foreign/08-Aug-2014/palestinian-shift-brings-war-crimes-case-closer-to-israel

[emsimon33]

1. K&R

I hope that people are held accountable.

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