Palestinian shift brings war crimes case closer to Israel
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 worlds 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 Authoritys observer status to non-member state from entity.
If the Palestinians were to sign the ICCs 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