Netanyahu fires back.
Wed Mar 3, 2021 Joseph Puder 2
The seemingly biased decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague (Netherlands), to investigate Israeli actions during the 2014 Gaza War, prompted a sharp reaction from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu observed in his statement that Israel (as well as the US) is not a member of the ICC. He stated that, “Today the Court (ICC) proved once again that it is a political body and not a judicial institution.” He added, “The Court ignores real war crimes and instead persecutes the State of Israel, a state with a firm democratic government which sanctifies the rule of law, and it is not a member of the Court.”The US State Department also reacted to the political nature of the ICC determination. A pretrial chamber of the ICC determined on Friday, February 5, 2021 that it has jurisdiction to probe Israel and Hamas on the 2014 Gaza war, as well as Israel’s settlement policy, and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) actions on the Gaza border.
Ned Price, the State Department spokesperson tweeted that, “The US objects to today’s ICC decision regarding the Palestinian situation. Israel is not a State party to the Rome Statute. (The ICC was established in 2002 in Rome).” Price added, “We will continue to uphold President Joe Biden’s strong commitment to Israel and its security, including opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”
The decision of the ICC is a precedent-setting one, and it comes
more than a year after ICC prosecutor Patou Bensouda requested the Court
to confirm its jurisdiction in this case. This case is essentially the
Court’s way of appeasing the Palestinians, and the dominant Arab-Muslim
bloc at the UN. Naturally, the Palestinians have hailed the decision as a
victory. Israel, on the other hand, excoriated the decision as a
contentious political move without a valid legal basis. ..........The ICC decision came in a two-to-one vote. The French and Benin
justices voted to investigate; the Hungarian Justice was against it..........To Read More....
Editor's Note: You may wish to view my commentaries on the ICC:
No comments:
Post a Comment