U.N. Approves Palestine’s Bid to Join International Criminal Court
The United Nations has given Palestine the go-ahead to become the 123rd member of the International Criminal Court, effective April 1 of this year.
Shutterstock
The United Nations has given Palestine the go-ahead to become the 123rd member of the International Criminal Court, effective April 1 of this year.
This means that the perpetual conflict between Palestine, which was designated as a state by the U.N. in 2012, and Israel will take on new dimensions as it is given another international forum in which to play out, as The Associated Press noted Wednesday (via Chron.com):
Palestine exists in theory only, with Israel in full control of most of the occupied territory, but will be treated as a state at the ICC. Israel is not a member of the court and has no plans to join, but its actions in the Palestinian territories can now be investigated and prosecuted by the court.
WHAT CASES WILL THE PALESTINIANS SUBMIT?
They will focus on last year’s 50-day war between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas group in Gaza and on Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands. More than 550,000 Israelis live in settlements built since 1967 in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The court’s 2002 founding charter says a state commits a war crime if it transfers its civilians to territory it occupies.
Palestinians, including members of Hamas as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, could also be the subjects of war crimes investigations at the ICC, the AP added.
–Posted by Kasia Anderson
AS CHAOS UNFOLDS, FIND SOLID GROUND…In this time of unprecedented challenges, independent journalism is more vital than ever. At Truthdig, we expose what power wants hidden and give you the clarity to make sense of it all.
Your donation helps ensure that truth telling continues.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke out this week in an address to the U.N. Security Council against Israel’s policy of stealing Palestinian land in the West Bank and building ever more squatter homes in occupied Palestine.
The United Nations has officially condemned Israel for shelling its emergency shelters in Gaza during the summer of 2014. The attacks left hundreds injured and at least 44 dead.
Days after a cease-fire in Gaza was agreed to by Hamas and Israel, the latter announced it was taking over 1.5 square miles of West Bank territory south of Bethlehem as "a response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers in the area" this summer.
At 8:00 a.m. Friday (local time), a three-day cease-fire was scheduled to begin in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement about the temporary truce Thursday. Shortly after the truce began Friday, however, Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces accused each other of violating the agreement.
The Islamist militant onslaught in Iraq raises the specter of a sectarian conflict spilling across the embattled nation's borders, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday.
The volatile situation in Ukraine once again erupted into violence Tuesday, after police forces loyal to the country's embattled President Viktor Yanukovych surrounded and stormed an opposition encampment in Kiev's Independence Square.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.