|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
February 10th,
2009 - Palestinians Press for War Crimes Inquiry on Gaza |
|
Palestinians
Press for War Crimes Inquiry on Gaza By Marlise Simons New York Times February 10, 2009 The Hague - The Palestinian
Authority is pressing the International Criminal Court in The Hague to
investigate accusations of war crimes committed by Israeli commanders during
the recent war in Gaza. The Palestinian minister of
justice, Ali Kashan, first raised the issue during a visit to the court’s
chief prosecutor late last month, and he and other officials are due back
again in The Hague this week, court officials said. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the
prosecutor, had initially said he lacked the legal basis to examine the case.
But since the Palestinian Authority signed a commitment on Jan. 22
recognizing the court’s authority, the prosecutor has appeared more open to
studying the Palestinian claim. “The prosecutor has agreed
to explore if he could have jurisdiction in the case,” said Béatrice Le
Fraper, the director of jurisdiction for the prosecution. She cautioned that
accepting jurisdiction would not automatically set off a criminal
investigation. “We are still very far from any decision; this is just the
beginning of a long process,” she said. The prosecutor has received
more than 200 requests to look into allegations of war crimes during the
recent fighting between Israel and Hamas militants. They include accusations
from individuals and organizations that Israel violated the rules of war by
singling out civilians and nonmilitary buildings, and by using weapons like
white phosphorus illegally. “Quite a few groups have
sent experts to the region, people doing forensic work, studying explosives
and other weapons,” she said. “The prosecutor can look at all open sources at
this stage.” Should a criminal
investigation begin, the prosecution would send its own investigators, who
would look into possible violations by both sides. Hamas’s practice of
sending rockets into southern Israel, which often landed in civilian areas,
might be viewed as a violation. Israeli officials justified their offensive
by saying they were trying to stop the rocket attacks. But even as envisioned by
the Palestinian Authority, the case faces numerous hurdles, specialists say. The court here is the
world’s first permanent international criminal court, created to examine war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It can prosecute any citizen
from the 108 countries that are currently members of the court. Individuals,
governments, the United Nations Security Council or the prosecutor can
initiate cases. Israel is not a member of
the court, and the Palestinian territories, not being recognized as a
sovereign nation, appear not to fulfill the requirements. But as a remedy, the
Palestinian Authority has taken a first step by presenting a declaration to
the court, formally accepting jurisdiction for “an indeterminate duration”
over acts “committed on the territory of Palestine” since July 1, 2002, when
the court’s authority began. Lawyers say such a
declaration allows for joining the court on an ad hoc basis, and has been
allowed before, in the case of Sierra Leone, which is not a member. But while
the Palestinian declaration has been recorded at the court, its validity is
far from settled. The big question, lawyers at the court say, is whether the
Palestinian Authority can grant jurisdiction in any form, and if so, how that
will be defined. The issue has raised the
question of whether Palestinian officials hope to obtain an implicit
recognition of statehood through the court. The court “will not use the
term statehood,” said a legal expert close to the case who spoke on condition
of anonymity because the issue was still being decided. “The court will avoid
defining whether Palestine is a state. The decision will be only if Palestine
can be admitted for the purposes of the court statute.” The Palestinian officials
visiting The Hague in the coming days are expected to try to demonstrate that
they have been allowed to sign other international treaties and conventions,
and can therefore be accepted as a party to the 1998 Rome treaty that founded
the court. Ms. Le Fraper, the director
of jurisdiction, said her office would call on international experts to help
settle such questions. Another unknown is whether
the Palestinian Authority can bring a case involving jurisdiction in Gaza.
The authority is run by Fatah, but its rival faction, Hamas, has declared
itself the only authority in Gaza and ousted Fatah from the territory. More than 1,300 Palestinians
died in the recent war in Gaza, many of them women and children. Israeli
officials have insisted that Israel respected international law during the
fighting. Israel has also said that it will investigate its attacks on United
Nations schools and headquarters and the use of unlawful weapons in urban
areas, including the use of white phosphorus. Human rights groups and a
number of United Nations officials have called for an independent
international inquiry into actions by both sides. Human Rights Watch said
such an independent effort was essential because of “Israel’s poor record of
investigating and prosecuting serious violations by its forces, and the
absence of any such effort by Hamas or other Palestinian groups.” Western politicians and
other critics of Israel’s recent conduct in Gaza have also said that Hamas
has violated the rules of war and committed war crimes with indiscriminate
rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and the use of its own civilians as human
shields. Depending on what happens at
the court, Hamas’s rocket attacks and other acts viewed by some as crimes
could also become part of any criminal investigation. By accepting the
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court on its territory, the
Palestinian Authority has also accepted jurisdiction over any war crimes by
its own residents. “That’s the way jurisdiction
works,” said a court lawyer. “The Palestinians know that and have taken that
risk.” External link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/world/middleeast/11hague.html |