On RT: Unraveling the ICC’s Role in the Gaza-Israel Conflict

Summary

• The ICC’s prosecutor initially issued a warning that impeding aid to Gaza could lead to “criminal responsibility” under the Rome Statute.
• However, the prosecutor focused more on Hamas-led attacks than Israeli military actions during his speech in Cairo.
• American attorney Stanley Cohen criticized the prosecutor’s remarks and questioned his impartiality.
• The ICC had officially opened an investigation into war crimes in Palestine by all parties involved since June 13, 2014.
• Israel’s top human rights groups, along with Amnesty International, accused Israel of operating an Apartheid regime against Palestinians, which could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute.
• Despite these developments, little progress had been made by the ICC over the past two years.
• Israeli families urged the court to investigate alleged crimes by Hamas, while Israel claimed the ICC had no jurisdiction in its territory.
• Stanley Cohen compared the ICC’s speed in indicting individuals, suggesting a bias in favor of African defendants.
• There was concern about the ICC’s handling of crimes committed against Palestinians compared to Israeli civilian deaths.
• ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s visit to Israel was met with criticism, as some felt it was not handled independently.
• Stanley Cohen mentioned other options for prosecuting war crimes, such as the International Court of Justice and courts with universal jurisdiction.
• The ongoing crisis in Gaza involved a high civilian death toll, extensive damage, and humanitarian concerns.

Unequal Accountability

Why Does the ICC Charge Russians but Not Israelis?

Israel isn’t part of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has raised questions about how it handles accusations of wrongdoing, especially when compared to other countries like Russia. People wonder why the ICC seems to charge Russians but not Israelis, especially when there are concerns about what some see as atrocities against Palestinian civilians by Israel (“Israel’s Relationship to the ICC”¹).

The ICC’s prosecutor once warned that blocking aid to Gaza could be a crime, but this warning was seen as biased by some. They felt that the prosecutor was focusing more on attacks by Hamas than on Israeli military actions. Despite the ICC officially starting to look into war crimes in Palestine involving all parties since 2014, the progress has been very slow (“International Criminal Court investigation in Palestine”²).

Israel’s leading human rights groups, along with Amnesty International, have accused Israel of apartheid, which is a serious crime under the ICC’s rules. But Israel refuses to work with the ICC, saying that the court has no right to act on Israeli territory (“Israel and the International Criminal Court”³).

There’s also a concern about how the ICC treats crimes against Palestinians compared to those against Israeli civilians. The situation in Gaza has led to many civilian deaths and serious humanitarian problems. When the ICC prosecutor visited Israel, some people doubted whether he could handle the situation fairly (“Should Israel Cooperate with the ICC?”⁴).

There are other ways to prosecute war crimes, like using the International Court of Justice or universal jurisdiction courts. The way the ICC acts now, especially with the Gaza-Israel conflict, will really affect how people see the court in the future.

References

1. “Israel’s Relationship to the ICC.” Israel Legal Advocacy Project, www.lawandisrael.org/the-icc-and-israel/. ↩︎
2. “International Criminal Court investigation in Palestine.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court_investigation_in_Palestine. ↩︎
3. “Israel and the International Criminal Court.” Jewish Virtual Library, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-and-the-international-criminal-court. ↩︎
4. “Should Israel Cooperate with the ICC?” Israel and International Law, www.thinc-israel.org/should-israel-cooperate-with-the-icc. ↩︎