In response to an international outcry over the International Criminal Court at The Hague's decision that its jurisdiction extends to investigating Israel for alleged war crimes against the Palestinians, should it decide to do so, the ICC has published a document in which it seeks to clarify the meaning of the process and responds to allegations that its ruling was political, including one made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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The document argues that the decision about its authority to investigate Israel was not political in nature, because the ICC prosecution was addressing the legal issue about whether a territory, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem, was subject to international law and the court's jurisdiction. The decision recognizes that the legal status of the territory requires further clarification.
In a direct answer to Netanyahu, who called the decision "pure anti-Semitism," the ICC writes that the court was an "independent, incorrupt" judicial body that played a critical role in providing a legal solution to the most serious crimes under international law.
The ICC said it operated solely under the legal framework of the Rome Statute, which granted the court its authority.
The ICC document also noted that its ruling could be appealed and outlined the actions needed to file an appeal. It also stated that the court's ruling on its authority to investigate Israel did not comprise a decision to proceed with an investigation, and that a decision about an investigation lay with the chief prosecutor.
In addition, the ICC's response noted that if an investigation were launched, it would not be limited to one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and would also investigate the actions of the various Palestinian groups, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as possible war crimes.
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