Voice of America: The International Criminal Court is opening a preliminary probe into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. The examination announced Friday will determine whether a full investigation is merited. The U.N. formed the ICC in 1998. The court is considered an independent judicial institution, and is not supervised by the United Nations. ICC prosecutes suspects accused of genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity. The court has no power to make arrests, but it does have the authority to issue arrest warrants, which can make it a problem for suspects to travel. If a full probe does go forward, it would open the door for charges against Israeli and Palestinian officials. Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., called it a very significant step that is necessary to seek justice for crimes against the Palestinian people. The ambassador said the Palestinians are seeking retroactive jurisdiction from the ICC regarding crimes committed during last years war in Gaza. The PA joined the ICC and 16 UN conventions after the Security Council failed to adopt a resolution paving the way to full statehood. Palestines move to join the ICC is a shift in strategy that will help internationalize the Palestinians campaign to end the Israeli occupation by moving away from the decades long US-led peace process that by all accounts has failed to slow or end the spread of Israels illegal settlements, or produce any tangible results.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 03:14:56 +0000
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