Ahead of the International Criminal Court's impending ruling on a Palestinian Authority lawsuit alleging Israeli war crimes, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin has appointed Blue and White MK Michal Cotler-Wunsch as the Knesset's official representative to the ICC.
ICC judges are expected to issue their ruling soon on whether the PA has the status of a state and whether on this basis the ICC has the authority to launch legal proceedings against Israel.
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Officials in Israel believe the panel of judges will accept the position of chief ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, whereby the court indeed has the authority to investigate Israelis and indict them. Several countries, including Germany, Australia, Austria and Hungary, have expressed fundamental reservations over Bensouda's opinion.
Cotler-Wunsch, an attorney by profession whose expertise is in international law, has led the legal team working to secure the return of fallen Israeli soldiers and civilians in Hamas captivity.
Speaking with Israel Hayom, Cotler-Wunsch warned that ruling in favor of Bensouda's position would "undermine the entire infrastructure upon which the ICC is based."
Cotler-Wunsch also said such a decision would mean ignoring the positions of other member states, whereby the ICC does not have the authority to launch a war crimes investigation based on a lawsuit filed by the PA.
Such a ruling "would be a very problematic statement, which should trouble those countries," she said. "Within the framework of the position to which I was appointed, I will work to persuade my colleagues in parliaments across the world of the realization that the decision does not only pertain to Israel, and that its ramifications won't pertain to Israel only but to other countries across the world … Ultimately the ICC's decision shouldn't have any implications on determining whether the PA as a state or not."
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