‘Palestine’ Officially Joins ICC in The Hague
Image by getty images
The Palestinian government would allow the International Criminal Court ample time to conduct an inquiry into possible war crimes during last year’s Gaza conflict, but would make a formal referral if it took too long, its foreign minister said.
Speaking to Reuters after the Palestinian Authority became the ICC’s 123rd member on Wednesday, Riyad al-Maliki also said his government would have no hesitation in handing over any Palestinian suspects, including himself or other senior government officials, if the ICC asked it to do so.
“We have to give (the prosecutor) the benefit of the doubt, ample time to do that preliminary investigation,” he said. “If we feel that it … is not going to lead to any official investigation or will take more than expected in terms of time, we will utilize our advantage of issuing a referral.”
The Palestinian Authority joined the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, potentially giving the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal jurisdiction over future crimes in the region.
The move was marked at a signing ceremony in The Hague that was attended by diplomats and officials from more than 100 countries but not Israel, which is not a member of the court.
Rights groups welcomed the step as a signal that the Palestinian Authority favors the rule of law over violence, but Israel has said it damages peace prospects and will not cooperate with the court.
From April 1, ICC prosecutors will have jurisdiction over all future crimes committed on Palestinian territory or by Palestinian citizens.
The ICC is a court of last resort, handling the most serious crimes when local authorities are unable or unwilling to deal with them.
Israel opposes Palestinian membership in the court, a distant successor of the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two, and lobbied unsuccessfully for its western allies to cut funding.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
