ICC launches war crimes probe into Israeli practices
March 3, 2021
JERUSALEM (AP) — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday launched an investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, turning the tribunal’s focus toward Israeli military actions and settlement construction on lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
The decision dealt an embarrassing blow to the Israeli government, which had conducted an aggressive public relations and behind-the-scenes diplomatic campaign to block the investigation. It also raised the possibility of arrest warrants being issued against Israeli officials suspected of war crimes, making it potentially risky to travel abroad.
“The state of Israel is under attack this evening,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement. “The biased international court in the Hague made a decision that is the essence of anti-Semitism and hypocrisy.”
“I promise you we will fight for the truth until we annul this scandalous decision,” he said.
The decision by Fatou Bensouda, the court’s outgoing prosecutor, had been expected since the court determined last month that she had jurisdiction over the case. A preliminary probe by Bensouda in 2019 had found a “reasonable basis” to open a war crimes case.
In a statement, Bensouda said the investigation will look into “crimes within the jurisdiction of the court that are alleged to have been committed” since June 13, 2014. She said the investigation will be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor.” That task will now be handed to Karim Khan, the British lawyer who is set to become the court’s chief prosecutor in June.
Wednesday’s decision turns the court’s focus toward two key Israeli policies of recent years: its repeated military operations against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, highlighted by a devastating 2014 war, and its expansion of Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Experts say that Israel could be especially vulnerable to prosecution for
its settlement policies.
. Cant get any respect on that.
I tried to get him to speak at my chiropractic school and that nikka refused to come down on his price and things he demanded to speak, I’m all for getting it how you live, but every school doesn’t have that capital allotted towards a black organization, I’m sure he’s a good guy and has his detractors, but that whole ordeal turned me away
I was just messing with you . Haven’t read thru yet
