The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) latest ruling that the Palestinians have jurisdiction over their lands is being seen by Palestinians as a belated chance of justice for those killed in Israeli attacks. However, on the other hand, many Israelis are seeing this judgment as worrying, arguing that they are the good guys fighting against the violence unleashed by Palestinians.
Friday’s ruling was delivered by a three-member pre-trial chamber and could trigger investigations into Palestinian militants’ groups like Hamas, as well as Israeli officials. But experts suggest that no probe was expected soon. Fatou Bensouda, the ICC’s prosecutor, stated that she would examine the judge pointed to the 2014 Gaza war between Hamas and Israel.
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In 2014, the Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis in Gaza killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and as many as sixty-seven Israeli troops. But an investigation into the strikes by the judicial arm of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) maintained that it was lawful and had targeted a terrorist.
Meanwhile, RushHourDaily quoted an Israeli official saying that the government would coordinate steps with Washington over the ICC’s ruling and described it as “political.” The extraordinary ruling comes three weeks after the former President Trump left the White House, under whom Washington imposed sanctions on two ICC officials, including Bensouda.
But following Biden’s inauguration, his administration stated that it would closely review the sanctions imposed by the former President. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu described the ruling as “anti-Semitic” and vowed to fight for the perversion of justice with full power. Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister, said that it was a “historic day” as previously the Israeli government had been treated above the international law.
Besides, the ICC ruling does not exempt the Palestinians from the scrutiny. Hamas, a group that has been declared as a terrorist organization by Tel-Aviv and the west, is accused of using Palestinian individuals to attack civilians. But an official from the group welcomed the decision and maintained that it did not fear the investigation, while the Israeli army said that it regretted the court’s decision and vowed to keep protecting its citizens.
