Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki today submitted a request asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate human rights violations linked to Israeli settlement policies.
The application goes further than a 2015 request for prosecutors to examine alleged crimes in the region and could fast-track the process to a full investigation.
Israel has committed war crimes for decades & has gotten away with it because the US is covering up for Israel. When will the ICC wise up and begin a wholesale investigation into Israel’s atrocities and condemn American & Israeli hindrance in their investigations. https://t.co/2tly7zOYFi
— Levantine (@filastinetoi) May 21, 2018
Al-Maliki, who arrived in The Netherlands yesterday, said the Palestinian Authority wanted an investigation to be opened “without delay”.
A report today said that the Palestinian submission refers to the forcible transfer of Palestinians, unlawful killings, illegal appropriation of land and property, demolition of Palestinian homes and other properties, repression of dissent through the unlawful killing of peaceful protesters, and the policy of mass arbitrary detention & torture.
PALESTINIANS CAN GO BACK OVER 16 YRS OF AGGRESSION & GENOCIDE IN GAZA & ETHNIC CLEANSING, WAR CRIMES IN ALL OF PALESTINE. SEE ARTICLES 11 & 24 OF ROME STATUTE: The Court can investigate crimes committed after 1 July 2002. @AJENews https://t.co/kR1kXEMG1x
— SUSAN JOHN-RICHARDS (@SJRWorld) May 22, 2018
The minister met with ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda this morning a week after more than 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they took part in unarmed protests along the Gaza-Israel border fence.
Bensouda vowed last week that she was watching the unrest in Gaza closely and would “take any action warranted” to prosecute crimes.
Calls on #ICC to probe Israeli crimes#Israel has refused to become a member of the #ICC,but its citizens can face charges if they are suspected of committing crimes on a territory of one of its members. The body has accepted "#Palestine"as a member state. https://t.co/Xs2zlteGfj
— Sonia Mota (@SoniaKatiMota) May 22, 2018
“My staff is vigilantly following developments on the ground and recording any alleged crime that could fall within” the tribunal’s jurisdiction, she warned in a statement to AFP.
“The violence must stop,” she insisted, urging “all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this situation and the Israel Defence Forces to avoid excessive use of force.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)