JERUSALEM (AP) – The International Criminal Court said on Friday that its jurisdiction extends to areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 war in the Middle East, paving the way for its chief prosecutor to conduct a war crimes investigation. open to Israeli military action.
The decision was welcomed by the Palestinians and condemned by Israel’s Prime Minister, who charged the court with “legal prosecution.”
ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in 2019 that there was a “reasonable basis” for opening a war crimes investigation into Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip and into Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. But she asked the court to determine if she has territorial jurisdiction before proceeding.
The Palestinians, who came to court in 2015, have pushed for an investigation. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, has said the court has no jurisdiction because the Palestinians do not have a state and because the boundaries of a future state must be decided in peace talks.
The Palestinians have asked the court to investigate Israeli actions during the 2014 war against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, as well as Israel’s settlement building in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem.
The international community generally views the settlements as illegal under international law, but has done little to pressure Israel to freeze or reverse their growth.
The international tribunal is intended to serve as a last resort when countries’ own legal systems are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute war crimes.
The Israeli military has mechanisms to investigate alleged misconduct by its forces, and despite criticism that the system is inadequate, experts say it has a good chance of fending off ICC investigations into its war practices.
However, when it comes to settlements, experts say Israel could have a hard time defending its actions. International law prohibits the transfer of a civilian population to occupied territory.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, areas the Palestinians want for their future state. About 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Israel says East Jerusalem is an indivisible part of its capital and the West Bank is a “disputed” area whose fate must be resolved in negotiations.
While the court would have a hard time prosecuting Israelis, it could issue arrest warrants that would make it difficult for Israeli officials to travel abroad. A case in the ICC would also be very embarrassing to the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the war in Gaza in 2014, while Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was the military chief of staff at the time.
Netanyahu said the decision “proves once again that the court is a political body, not a legal institution.”
He said the decision “damages the right of democratic countries to defend themselves against terrorism,” adding, “We will continue to use all means to defend our citizens and soldiers in the face of legal persecution.”
Nabil Shaath, a senior assistant to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the decision and said it proved the Palestinians were right to go to the ICC. “This is good news, and the next step is to start an official investigation into Israel’s crimes against our people,” he said.
The ICC could also potentially investigate crimes committed by Palestinian militants. Bensouda has said her probe would look into the actions of Hamas, which indiscriminately fired rockets at Israel during the 2014 war.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the Biden administration was “scrutinizing” the decision.
“However, we are deeply concerned about the ICC’s attempts to exercise jurisdiction over Israeli personnel,” said Price. “We have always taken the position that the jurisdiction of the court should be reserved for those who agree or are referred by the UN Security Council.”
The decision, detailed in a 60-page legal letter, was released late Friday after Israel closed its doors to the weekly Jewish Sabbath.
Human Rights Watch welcomed the decision, saying it “finally offers victims of serious crimes some hope of justice after half a century of impunity.”
“It is high time that Israeli and Palestinian perpetrators of the most serious abuses – whether war crimes committed during hostilities or the expansion of illegal settlements – were brought to justice,” said Balkees Jarrah, associate international Justice director at the New York-based. group.
The Provisional Chamber of three judges ruled that Palestine is a state party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC. In a dissenting court, it ruled that Palestine qualifies as the state in the territory where the “conduct in question” took place and that the court’s jurisdiction extends to East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Last year, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on ICC officials after previously revoking Bensouda’s entry visa, in response to the court’s attempts to prosecute US troops for actions in Afghanistan.
The US, like Israel, does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court. At the time, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the steps were in retaliation for investigations into the United States and its allies, a reference to Israel.
The Biden government has said it will review those sanctions.
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The Associated Press writers, Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report.