ICC prosecutor to probe war crimes in Palestinian Territories, angering Israel

[webfact]

ICC prosecutor to probe war crimes in Palestinian Territories, angering Israel

By Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch

 

FILE PHOTO: Female Palestinian medic Razan Al-Najar reacts to tear gas as she works at the scene of clashes at Israel-Gaza border, in the southern Gaza Strip April 1, 2018. Picture taken April1, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

 

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday her office will formally investigate war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and denounced by Israel.

 

The decision follows a ruling by the court on Feb. 5 that it has jurisdiction in the case, prompting swift rejections by Washington and Jerusalem.

 

"The decision to open an investigation followed a painstaking preliminary examination undertaken by my office that lasted close to five years," Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement.

 

Promising a "principled, non-partisan, approach", she said: "In the end, our central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides."

 

Bensouda, who will be replaced by British prosecutor Karim Khan on June 16, said in December 2019 that war crimes had been or were being committed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She named both the Israel Defense Forces and armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas as possible perpetrators.

 

The next step will be to determine whether Israeli or Palestinian authorities have investigations themselves and to assess those efforts.

 

'LONG-AWAITED STEP'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the court's decision was "undiluted anti-Semitism and the height of hypocrisy."

 

He accused the court of turning "a blind eye" to Iran, Syria and other countries that he said were committing "real" war crimes.

 

"Without any jurisdiction, it decided that our brave soldiers, who take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties against the worst terrorists in the world who deliberately target civilians, it's our soldiers who are war criminals," Netanyahu said in a statement.

 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the decision was "morally bankrupt and legally flawed," while Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Gilad Erdan, vowed to "continue working together with the American administration against this shameful decision.”

 

The U.S. State Department said Washington firmly opposes and is disappointed by the announcement, adding that the United States has serious concerns over the ICC's attempts to exercise jurisdiction over Israel.

 

"We will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly, the ICC ... has no jurisdiction over this matter," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

 

The prosecutor's office was targeted by sanctions under then-U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington opposes the ICC investigation in Afghanistan, which is also looking at the role of U.S. forces, and the Palestinian Territories inquiry.

 

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry welcomed the prosecutor's investigation as "a long-awaited step that serves Palestine’s tireless pursuit of justice and accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian people seek and deserve"

 

It urged all states to "refrain from politicizing these independent proceedings."

 

George Giacaman, a Palestinian political analyst and professor at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, said the ICC decision showed the Palestinian leadership's strategy of appealing to global institutions had had some success.

 

While cautioning that the probe could take years, Giacaman said: "At best, one can say that in the future, the Israelis will be more careful with hitting Palestinian civilians. Perhaps the ICC will prove to be a deterrent."

 

The Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza and is regarded as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union, defended its own actions in the conflict.

 

“We welcome the ICC decision to investigate Israeli occupation war crimes against our people. It is a step forward on the path of achieving justice,” said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.

 

Rights groups said the decision offered victims hope of justice. Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said ICC member countries should be ready to protect the court’s work from any political pressure.The ICC is a court of last resort established to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide when a country is unable or unwilling to do so.

 

The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, urged President Joe Biden to maintain the sanctions on ICC officials pursuing what it called "illegitimate, politically motivated investigations into the U.S. and Israel."

 

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv, Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Toby Chopra, Nick Macfie, Timothy Heritage and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-04

 

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[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

angering Israel

Of course they're angered, they've been committing war crimes with immunity for generations! 

[Tug]

Nothing to hide nothing to fear

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the court's decision was "undiluted anti-Semitism and the height of hypocrisy."

 

Everything somebody says that is not liked by Netanyahu becomes anti-semitism automatically .

Bored with always this same behavior , there is no excuse for the war crimes committed by the Israelian Army .

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"Without any jurisdiction, it decided that our brave soldiers, who take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties against the worst terrorists in the world who deliberately target civilians, it's our soldiers who are war criminals," Netanyahu said in a statement.

 

" the worst terrorists in the world who deliberately target civilians ..."

He must have got something wrong there ... one one side it is ' the worst terrorists ' who are throwing stones against heavily armed soldiers who target civilians with live ammunition , but it is the ones who are responding by throwing stones , that are the ' war criminals ' ...

Mad logic .

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the decision was "morally bankrupt and legally flawed," while Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Gilad Erdan, vowed to "continue working together with the American administration against this shameful decision.”

 

"morally bankrupt and legally flawed," ... again , the opposite is the case in reality .

This decision by the ICC was long overdue .

Netanyahus policies always follow the same principle ... the Israelis have a right to just do whatever they want , if somebody complains about , it is anti-semitism . Once the facts are created by the Israelis , excuses will be found that they were forced to do so because .... somebody else's fault . Period .

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/02/soldiers-good-palestinians-bad-israel-double-standards-justice

----> Two sharply contrasting sentences were handed down recently by Israeli courts.

In the first case a teenage Palestinian girl, Ahed Tamimi, was accused of slapping an Israeli soldier. Although she caused the soldier no physical harm, her assault was regarded by the Israeli military court that tried her behind closed doors as warranting incarceration for eight months.

 

The second example concerns an Israeli border police officer, Ben Deri, who shot and killed a Palestinian teenager, Nadeem Nawara, at a demonstration in 2014 where – the court in Jerusalem accepted – the youth posed no threat to the policeman officer or other security forces.

Nawara was one of three teenagers shot that day, two of whom were killed, with Deri prosecuted only in one killing.

The court gave him the benefit of the doubt that his act was not deliberate but a mistake. It accepted that Deri had negligently loaded a clip of live ammunition, and in a second act of negligence he had also fired his weapon, not noticing he had failed to load a plastic round into a barrel extension attached to the gun.

Because of this Deri will serve just nine months in prison, a month longer than Tamimi who killed no one. <----

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/mar/03/israeli-officials-start-to-feel-the-impact-of-icc-investigation

Edited March 4, 2021 by nobodysfriend

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday her office will formally investigate war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and denounced by Israel.

 

The decision follows a ruling by the court on Feb. 5 that it has jurisdiction in the case, prompting swift rejections by Washington and Jerusalem.

No surprises there then...

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, urged President Joe Biden to maintain the sanctions on ICC officials

The US has imposed sanctions on ICC officials? 

 

Did not know that.

[dexterm]

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
The ICC investigation may take some years, but..

On the plus side...
     OP:  "In the end, our central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides."
    It will expose war crimes on both sides, and the displaced, oppressed, tortured, maimed and murdered deserve that at least. If not the ICC, who can deliver justice for the victims?

 

    It may eventually result in some individual arrest warrants and indictments, which will give the criminals more than a few sleepless nights. They had better get used to holidaying on the beaches of Tel Aviv and Gaza, for fear of being arrested overseas.

 

    It will put Israeli war crimes in the spotlight for several years to come. More people worldwide will be more aware of the darker side of the Zionist narrative, which is why Netanyahu so vehemently wants to silence the ICC investigation. And perhaps the airing of Israeli war crimes may actually haunt Biden and Harris's dreams, with some prompting from Sanders and other Democrat party progressives. 

 

    It gives the Palestinian state legitimacy, as a recognised party to the ICC, which irks Israel bearing in mind it is not that long ago that it was illegal and a shootable offense even to wave the Palestinian flag.

[Pique Dard]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"The decision to open an investigation

the decision is taken, all right, but it'll lead nowhere! it isn't secret and the israeli know they've got nothing to fear.

[Morch]

4 hours ago, Tug said:

Nothing to hide nothing to fear

 

If the investigation is seen as objective and unbiased. There's obviously no general agreement on that. Given past international investigations etc. into these matters, there's no reason to assume this one would be very different.

[Morch]

 

@nobodysfriend

 

Alleged war crimes. The purpose of the investigation is to determine if there were such. Deciding it in advance makes claims of objectivity, fairness and such hollow. Also, you'll note that (nominally, at least) the there will also be investigations into alleged Palestinian war crimes.

 

As for Netanyahu (and other Israeli politicians) over-playing the antisemitism card, agreed. It neither applies in all cases (like this one), and even if was more prevalent as motive, repeatedly harping on it 'devalues' the arguments' strength.

 

The 'throwing stones' bit is nonsense. Attacks by Palestinians include rockets, mortar shells, small arms, IED's, small arms and even an anti-tank missile. Granted, these are no still no match for the IDF, but a far cry from your description.

 

War Crimes, an in the legal, rather than everyday speech and people's imaginations, is not quite as simple as some may think. This would apply to attacks in urban surroundings (which aren't globally legally prohibited), the use of civilians as human shields, or the use of unguided weapons against civilians.
 

I have little doubt that under international law, the Israeli settlement effort in the West Bank can be labeled a war crime. When it comes to military actions in the Gaza Strip, probably less legal footing to base cases.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

The US has imposed sanctions on ICC officials? 

 

Did not know that.

 

Under Trump. Mostly to do with ICC investigation into US actions in Afghanistan. At least a couple of topics on the forum back when. Don't know if Biden got around to cancelling them, or if he intends do wait for the next prosecutor to take office first.

 

International Criminal Court officials sanctioned by US

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54003527

[Sheryl]

A baiting post with no substantive content has been removed

[Morch]

 

@dexterm

 

There is no guarantee that anything will be 'exposed'. At least nothing that wasn't rehashed and reported numerous times in the past. As for justice being 'delivered' - again, assuming that the investigation will result with a decision that crimes were committed (apparently taken for granted), and that meaningful actual consequences would follow. None of that is a given. The ICC does not 'deliver'. It does not have an authority or means to enforce anything. That's up to member country's governments. Precedent does not indicate that compliance is assured either.

 

The trope about vacations in Gaza and Tel Aviv was addressed on the previous topic. Countries which have ok (or more than that) relations with the Hamas will still allow officials to come and go. Most Western countries are not an option for them anyway. As far as Israelis go, guess no issues going to the US, China, Russia and India. Probably trickier when it comes to Europe. Inconvenient, but that's about it.

 

Israel's actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip make headlines regardless of this investigation or other. 

For some reason, you do not seem to consider that the coverage of alleged war crimes committed by the Palestinian would affect them in a negative manner.Again, goes to show what's the real focus of your posts on this - the investigation being propaganda fodder.

 

[nobodysfriend]

33 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

@nobodysfriend

 

Alleged war crimes. The purpose of the investigation is to determine if there were such. Deciding it in advance makes claims of objectivity, fairness and such hollow. Also, you'll note that (nominally, at least) the there will also be investigations into alleged Palestinian war crimes.

 

As for Netanyahu (and other Israeli politicians) over-playing the antisemitism card, agreed. It neither applies in all cases (like this one), and even if was more prevalent as motive, repeatedly harping on it 'devalues' the arguments' strength.

 

The 'throwing stones' bit is nonsense. Attacks by Palestinians include rockets, mortar shells, small arms, IED's, small arms and even an anti-tank missile. Granted, these are no still no match for the IDF, but a far cry from your description.

 

War Crimes, an in the legal, rather than everyday speech and people's imaginations, is not quite as simple as some may think. This would apply to attacks in urban surroundings (which aren't globally legally prohibited), the use of civilians as human shields, or the use of unguided weapons against civilians.
 

I have little doubt that under international law, the Israeli settlement effort in the West Bank can be labeled a war crime. When it comes to military actions in the Gaza Strip, probably less legal footing to base cases.

 

No doubt that war crimes have been committed .  probably by both sides , but disproportionally more by the Israeli side .

 

Understandable that Israel does not want to be confronted with those facts .

 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/13/israel-apparent-war-crimes-gaza

 

(New York) – Israeli forces’ repeated use of lethal force in the Gaza Strip since March 30, 2018, against Palestinian demonstrators who posed no imminent threat to life may amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. Israeli forces have killed more than 100 protesters in Gaza and wounded thousands with live ammunition.

Human Rights Watch interviewed nine people who witnessed Israeli forces shooting protesters in Gaza on May 14, the day with the highest toll of deaths and injuries so far when more than 60 people were killed

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/amnesty-report-finds-israeli-army-committed-war-crimes-1.1104073

Amnesty report finds Israeli army committed war crimes

MIDDLE EAST: The war crimes against Palestinians, include the use of "human shields", torture, blocking ambulances and executions, reports Lara MarlThe Israeli army imposed a news blackout when it attacked the West Bank towns of Jenin and Nablus last April. Diplomats, journalists, human rights workers and medical personnel were kept out of the Jenin refugee camp for nine days, while the old city of Nablus was cut off from the world by Israeli tanks for 19 days \...

We're saying that the Israeli Defence Forces are responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes," says Mr Seán Love, the director of Amnesty Ireland. "Unlawful killings, torture and ill treatment ... the wanton destruction of property ... the fact that they have been done in a systematic and widespread manner, and in pursuit of government policy, makes them crimes against humanity under the definition of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention make it clear that they are serious war crimes as well."

 

 

I

Edited March 4, 2021 by nobodysfriend

[Morch]

1 hour ago, Pique Dard said:

the decision is taken, all right, but it'll lead nowhere! it isn't secret and the israeli know they've got nothing to fear.

 

I don't think that the decision was taken with the aim of getting anywhere. Everyone knows the score. Both sides will not cooperate. There will be an investigation based on publicly available and/or partial evidence. Even if the investigation concludes war crimes (from either side) were committed, effectively no one will be touched.

 

The ICC depends on member countries to enforce arrest warrants etc. Some of the relevant countries (as far as Israelis and Palestinians go), aren't members. Others will unlikely go the extra mile, initiate a confrontation by complying. I think bottom line it mostly applies to Europe, if that.

 

 

[Morch]

 

@nobodysfriend

 

No doubt as far as layman speech goes, perhaps. Legally making such cases is more complicated than that. Again, let me repeat that what people imagine to be war crimes, sometimes isn't so. As for the distribution of alleged war crimes being 'disproportionate' - guess that would rely on your personal definition regarding what is a war crime. To give an example - shooting a guided missile to a target located in urban surroundings, even with civilians put in danger, will not necessarily qualify as a war crime. On the other hand, firing an unguided rocket on a urban area will most likely be counted as a war crime. Israeli actions often relate to the former, Palestinian attacks to the latter.

 

And I notice that, again, your focus is totally one sided. To be expected, but needs to be pointed out.

[stevenl]

5 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

@nobodysfriend

 

No doubt as far as layman speech goes, perhaps. Legally making such cases is more complicated than that. Again, let me repeat that what people imagine to be war crimes, sometimes isn't so. As for the distribution of alleged war crimes being 'disproportionate' - guess that would rely on your personal definition regarding what is a war crime. To give an example - shooting a guided missile to a target located in urban surroundings, even with civilians put in danger, will not necessarily qualify as a war crime. On the other hand, firing an unguided rocket on a urban area will most likely be counted as a war crime. Israeli actions often relate to the former, Palestinian attacks to the latter.

 

And I notice that, again, your focus is totally one sided. To be expected, but needs to be pointed out.

"And I notice that, again, your focus is totally one sided. To be expected, but needs to be pointed out."

Since he starts with this sentence, no, far from totally one-sided.

"No doubt that war crimes have been committed .  probably by both sides , but disproportionally more by the Israeli side ."

 

[Morch]

As mentioned in the OP, Bensouda (the current prosecutor) will be stepping down mid-June. Making the call to go ahead with the investigation, when the hot potato itself will have to be dealt by the next prosecutor is a bit meh. Given that the decision was controversial, and that investigations span years, maybe leaving it up to the next in line would have been a more appropriate course of action.

 

Her replacement, Karim Khan from the UK, got quite a history with the ICC - from the defense side. There were views suggesting that his positions on the ICC's role were more 'conservative', as opposed to Bensouda's being seen as relating to 'legal (or judicial) activism'. He was also (according to reports) Israel's preferred candidate from the three realistic finalists.

 

While it is possible that Bensouda's decision to go ahead with things was purely procedural, I think it would be naive to dismiss the identity and positions of her successor as not playing their part in it. This way, he can still shelf, cancel or delay the proceedings, but it would result in a more significant resistance and backlash.

 

If so, guess some may see it as the righteous move, and others disagreeing. Some see it as preemptive anti-political decision, some taking it as the exact opposite. I'm inclined to think that even if it was meant to address possible political influence, it managed to achieve the very same - the court being further seen as more of a political arena.

[Morch]

14 minutes ago, stevenl said:

"And I notice that, again, your focus is totally one sided. To be expected, but needs to be pointed out."

Since he starts with this sentence, no, far from totally one-sided.

"No doubt that war crimes have been committed .  probably by both sides , but disproportionally more by the Israeli side ."

 

 

Far from being one-sided how? There's this fig leaf half-comment, and then the bulk is (again) dealing solely with Israel. The basis for the 'disproportionate' comment itself is biased, as addressed in my post above.

[nobodysfriend]

40 minutes ago, Morch said:

And I notice that, again, your focus is totally one sided. To be expected, but needs to be pointed out.

 Sorry Morch , but that is not true .

 

I try not to be biased at all ... but it is the facts that talk ...

 I am not against Israel . Israel did some really great things , too . And , of course they have a right to exist as a state  within their defined borders .

 

I am not pro arab . There are a lot of things that I do not like ...

 

Most of all , I hate Nazism , ( extreme nationalism ) of no matter from what side it comes from ...

.I had my personal experiences with Nazis , they are completely wrong .

It is a pity that Israeli policies sometimes do resemble a lot that ideology .

A lot more countries recently chose that way , Populism on the rise everywhere , really worrying .

 

Edited March 4, 2021 by nobodysfriend

[Morch]

3 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

 Sorry Morch , but that is not true .

 

I try not to be biased at all ... but it is the facts that talk ...

 I am not against Israel . Israel did some really great things , too . And , of course they have a right to exist as a state  within their defined borders .

 

I am not pro arab . There are a lot of things that I do not like ...

 

Most of all , I hate Nazism , ( extreme nationalism )  no matter from what side it comes from ... I had my personal experiences with that ...

A lot more countries recently chose that way , Populism on the rise everywhere , really worrying .

 

 

I wasn't commenting on your political views, or at least didn't intend to. My comment was with regard to the topic at hand. The bulk of your posts above refer to Israel, especially as far as specific links and cases are mentioned.

 

The facts are that military actions, horrendous their consequences as may be, are not always war crimes (in the legal sense, that is). Actions by militias, terrorist organizations and the like, often are. The legal issue is not decided solely on the power imbalance between sides involved. Rather, it's the nature of the actions in question that carries more (legal) weight.

[stevenl]

16 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

I wasn't commenting on your political views, or at least didn't intend to. My comment was with regard to the topic at hand. The bulk of your posts above refer to Israel, especially as far as specific links and cases are mentioned.

 

The facts are that military actions, horrendous their consequences as may be, are not always war crimes (in the legal sense, that is). Actions by militias, terrorist organizations and the like, often are. The legal issue is not decided solely on the power imbalance between sides involved. Rather, it's the nature of the actions in question that carries more (legal) weight.

Quite a few respected international bodies have mentioned that Israel has committed war crimes. Not mentioning that would show bias.

[nobodysfriend]

Is Israel above all criticism because the jews suffered a lot in the past ?

Is somebody who dares to criticize Israel an anti-semit ?

NO .

The same rights and laws for everybody would be nice .

 

No man is above the law and no man is below it, nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not asked as a favor .

https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/no-man-is-above-the-law-and-no-man-is-below-it-nor-do-we-ask-any-mans-permission-when-we-ask-him-to-obey-it-obedience-to-the-law-is-demanded-as-a-right-not-asked-as-a-favor-explain-illustrate/

[Morch]

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

Quite a few respected international bodies have mentioned that Israel has committed war crimes. Not mentioning that would show bias.

 

Did I say anything about not mentioning it? I've pointed out that poster chooses to focus and highlight those, with actions by the Palestinian side either getting downplayed or given cursory mention. Quite a few respected international bodies have mentioned that the Palestinians committed war crimes too, guess not mentioning them doesn't indicate bias, then?

[Jai Dee]

An off-topic troll post has been removed.

[Chomper Higgot]

An open and transparent investigation into war crimes committed by both sides of this conflict is well overdue.

 

As for ‘without bias’ I wouldn’t put too much weight on either side crying foul, they’ll both do that anyway.

 

 

[Morch]

5 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Is Israel above all criticism because the jews suffered a lot in the past ?

Is somebody who dares to criticize Israel an anti-semit ?

NO .

The same rights and laws for everybody would be nice .

 

No man is above the law and no man is below it, nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not asked as a favor .

https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/no-man-is-above-the-law-and-no-man-is-below-it-nor-do-we-ask-any-mans-permission-when-we-ask-him-to-obey-it-obedience-to-the-law-is-demanded-as-a-right-not-asked-as-a-favor-explain-illustrate/

 

 

Other than Israeli politicians (and bear in mind, there are elections coming up), and an US pro-Israel advocacy group that turned right-wing some time ago, there's no such general point of view. Israel is routinely criticized on international bodies, media and social media. Netanyahu's 'antisemitism' strawman is matched by claims such as above.

 

On an amusing side note, one of the most prolific (and vehement) regulars on these topic routinely rejects any criticism of the Palestinians, or even acknowledging (never mind discussing) issues negatively reflecting on them. Somehow, that seems totally acceptable to many participants. 

[Morch]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

An open and transparent investigation into war crimes committed by both sides of this conflict is well overdue.

 

As for ‘without bias’ I wouldn’t put too much weight on either side crying foul, they’ll both do that anyway.

 

 

 

We've been through this in the past - how is the investigation to be conducted in any 'open and transparent' manner? What is the imperative to ignore previous investigations, reviews and whatnot commissioned by international bodies often fail to deliver when it comes to both the conduct of the investigation or the results being unbiased?

 

Your comment regarding bias doesn't actually serve to support the investigation being unbiased - it simply opts to ignore the issue.

[dexterm]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

@dexterm

 

There is no guarantee that anything will be 'exposed'. At least nothing that wasn't rehashed and reported numerous times in the past. As for justice being 'delivered' - again, assuming that the investigation will result with a decision that crimes were committed (apparently taken for granted), and that meaningful actual consequences would follow. None of that is a given. The ICC does not 'deliver'. It does not have an authority or means to enforce anything. That's up to member country's governments. Precedent does not indicate that compliance is assured either.

 

The trope about vacations in Gaza and Tel Aviv was addressed on the previous topic. Countries which have ok (or more than that) relations with the Hamas will still allow officials to come and go. Most Western countries are not an option for them anyway. As far as Israelis go, guess no issues going to the US, China, Russia and India. Probably trickier when it comes to Europe. Inconvenient, but that's about it.

 

Israel's actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip make headlines regardless of this investigation or other. 

For some reason, you do not seem to consider that the coverage of alleged war crimes committed by the Palestinian would affect them in a negative manner.Again, goes to show what's the real focus of your posts on this - the investigation being propaganda fodder.

 

>>For some reason, you do not seem to consider that the coverage of alleged war crimes committed by the Palestinian would affect them in a negative manner.
..Your usual deflection and misrepresentation. I wrote  "It will expose war crimes on both sides".
Firing unguided missiles into Israel where innocent civilians could be killed is just as much a war crime as deliberately shelling a Gazan beach where 4 boys were playing soccer and slaughtering them.

 

In that you have frequently stated that you regard the occupation of the West Bank is illegal, then presumably you consider Israeli settlements there are illegal also. Part of the ICC brief is to investigate this war crime.
"The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies" 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention#Article_49:_Deportations,_transfers,_evacuations

 

The threat of arrest warrants seems to concern Israeli officials more than they do you. 

"Within hours of the announcement, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz was reporting Israeli plans to brief hundreds of senior security officials, past and present, over the risk of their exposure to prosecution. The country may warn them not to travel abroad once the investigation is launched over risk of arrest.
Among those who could be at risk, according to Haaretz, is Israel’s defence minister and leader of the Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, who was military chief of staff in 2014"
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/mar/03/israeli-officials-start-to-feel-the-impact-of-icc-investigation

 

I hope all war criminals spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders. That's the least they deserve.

[nobodysfriend]

A Palestinian going on a stabbing spree in Jerusalem , killing innocent Israelis just because he ( or she ) is totally lost in an indoctrinated ideology that teaches hate , is , without any doubt a murderer and terrorist .

But , most of the times , these actions are carried out by individuals , and not organized .

 

On the contrary , if a state organizes actions against minorities or ethnic groups  with the help of the army , that is another dimension ...

 

There is no state sponsored terrorism on a quasi industrial scale by the palestinians , as they do not even have a state ... It is the Ideology ( holy war ) that makes individuals become terrorists . 

 

And , again :

"Unlawful killings, torture and ill treatment ... the wanton destruction of property ... the fact that they have been done in a systematic and widespread manner, and in pursuit of government policy, makes them crimes against humanity under the definition of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention make it clear that they are serious war crimes as well."