A new report by the Israeli newspaper 'Jerusalem Post', based on unnamed sources within the Palestinian Authority, claims that the PA has agreed to pursue no formal charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC), in exchange for the release of tax money that had been illegally seized by Israeli authorities. The report came after an announcement on Friday by the Israeli government that they would return to the Palestinian Authority some of the $500 million that they had illegally seized since January, but would not return the entire amount - instead subtracting from the total an arbitrary charge for electric, water and hospital bills. This amount will also not include the tax monies from the month of March, just January and February. So far the Israeli government has not made any statement on whether or when it will release the March tax funds. These are taxes collected by Israel on goods imported into the Palestinian Territories - since the PA does not cont...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said it welcomed the decision to open an initial probe on Israeli war crimes at the International Criminal Court. The ministry said in a statement that the ICC decision was a positive and important step towards achieving justice and guaranteeing respect of international law. Palestine will fully cooperate with the ICC and facilitate its mission until justice is achieved, the statement said. "The State of Palestine has signed the Rome Statue to guarantee an end to war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel, the occupying authority, has committed and is still committing against our people," it added. The Hamas movement also applauded the decision, saying it was ready to present thousands of documents to the ICC that prove Israeli war crimes have taken place. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that the war crimes probe was an important, long-awaited step. more

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court will open a preliminary inquiry into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the first formal step that could lead to charges against officials there or in Israel, the court said on Friday. They will determine whether preliminary findings merit a full investigation into alleged atrocities which could result in charges against individuals on either the Israeli or Palestinian side. The Palestinian Authority two weeks ago officially submitted to the United Nations the request to join 22 international treaties, including the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC. more

The International Criminal Court said Palestinian authorities had formally recognized the court's jurisdiction to investigate crimes allegedly committed during last summer's Gaza war. The legal declaration would allow the ICC to scrutinize offences allegedly committed since June 13, 2014, the start of Israel's military operation, but does not mean the court would automatically launch an investigation, it said. Palestine has formally requested to join the Hague-based court in a move which opens the way to file suit against Israeli officials for alleged war crimes in the occupied territories, a request that has infuriated Israel. Acceptance of the ICC's jurisdiction differs from accession to the Rome Statute, the court's founding treaty. The UN is still reviewing documents submitted to join the Court. "On 1 January 2015, the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Herman von Hebel, received a document... by the Palestinian government declaring P...

In a move opposed by the United States and Israel, Palestinian leaders have submitted a request to join the International Criminal Court and sign over a dozen other international treaties. The Palestinian Authority says it will seek the prosecution of Israeli officials for war crimes in the Occupied Territories. In retaliation, Israel has halted the transfer of tax revenues needed to pay for Palestinian salaries and public services. The Palestinian Authority opted to join the ICC after the United States and Israel successfully lobbied against a UN Security Council measure calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2017. We are joined by two guests: Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer and Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s United Nations; and Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for J...

The first case Palestine will refer to the International Criminal Court will be the crimes Israel committed during the summer of 2014, including the Gaza war, a legal expert said Sunday. On Jan. 2, Palestine presented a formal request to join the Hague-based court in a move which opens the way for it to file suit against Israeli officials for alleged war crimes in the occupied territories. The ICC can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since July 1, 2002, when the court's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, came into force. If the application process goes as planned, Palestine should be able to refer a case in early April, with legal preparations to that end already well under way. Shawan Jabarin, director of the Ramallah-based rights group al-Haq, said Palestine had decided to file a suit over Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip starting from June 13, 2014. That was the date Israel began a massive cra...

Israeli authorities on Saturday froze the transfer of tax funds collected by Israel for the Palestinian Authority in response to President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to sign the Rome Statute, an official told AFP. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not elaborate. The Israeli news site Ynet said Israel froze 500 million shekels ($127 million) of tax funds typically distributed each month. Citing "Israeli sources," Ynet said the decision was made Thursday during a discussion between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the freeze was a war crime. "This decision is a new Israeli war crime, but we won't back off in the face of those pressures," he told AFP. more

President Mahmoud Abbas signed letters to join nearly 20 international treaties -- including the Rome Statute that guarantees accession to the International Criminal Court -- Wednesday night, only a day after the UN Security Council rejected a resolution supporting an end to the Israeli occupation. "We want to complain about the harm caused to us and to our land," Abbas said in a statement aired on state TV before he signed the agreements, according to Palestinian official news agency Wafa. "But who shall we complain to? The Security Council refused our request. Where will we go? To the international organizations," he added. The ICC can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and Palestinian plans to become a party to the court have been strongly opposed by Israel and the United States. The move would allow Palestine to prosecute Israel for crimes committed during the summer offensive that left around 2,200 Pales...

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), along with several other prominent legal groups, is urging the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “initiate her own investigation” into “crimes committed and ongoing during and immediately before Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.” In a letter written in August, during the last week of Israel’s 51 days of attacks on the Gaza Strip, NLG president Azadeh Shahshahani states that “Israel’s clearly disproportionate use of force against the 1.8 million residents of Gaza appears to have little to do with any claim of security, but seems to be calculated to exact revenge against Palestinian civilians.” The letter lists specific examples of numerous violations of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s core treaty which defines international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. The NLG and endorsing organizations also write that the international court’s investigation “should include whether cert...

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Hamas has signed a proposal for the Palestinians to apply to join the International Criminal Court at which legal action could be taken against Israel, a senior official of the movement said Saturday. "Hamas signed the document which (Palestinian) president (Mahmoud Abbas) put forth as a condition that all factions approve, before he goes to sign the Rome Statute, which paves the way for Palestine's membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC)," Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzouq wrote on his Facebook page. The Palestinian declaration came after two days of talks in Qatar between Abbas and Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal, whose movement is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP that the Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful force in Gaza, "is currently the only Palestinian faction that has not signed" the document. "They are studying the possibility of signing," he adde...

(Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said there was "clear evidence" of war crimes by Israel during its offensive in Gaza as he met International Criminal Court prosecutors on Tuesday to push for an investigation. Malki visited The Hague shortly after Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement that rules Gaza entered a 72-hour truce mediated by Egypt in an effort to pave the way for an extended ceasefire. Israel and the Palestinians traded accusations of war crimes during the Israeli military onslaught into Gaza, during which Hamas kept up rocket fire into the Jewish state, while defending their own actions as consistent with international law. Last week, the United Nations launched an inquiry into human rights violations and crimes alleged to have been committed by Israel during the offensive given the far higher toll of civilian death and physical destruction on the Palestinian side. Malki, visiting the court to lobby for action against Israel...

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The International Criminal Court will not investigate Israel's conduct during its December 2008 offensive on Gaza because Palestine is not a state, the world prosecutor said Tuesday. In a statement, the ICC prosecutor acknowledged that over 130 countries and some UN bodies recognize Palestine as a state. But, Palestine still holds observer status in the UN, and so the ICC cannot at this time investigate allegations of war crimes committed on Palestinian territory, the prosecutor said. President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full UN membership in September at the UN Security Council. The US vowed to use its veto to block the bid and the council has not yet made any recommendation to admit Palestine. The ICC said it could in the future consider allegations of crimes committed in Palestine if the Security Council determines that Palestine is a state. more

PA pushing for prosecutions at the Hague over Israel's war crimes. This certainly makes a change from Abbas's previous move to suspend pushing for war crimes at the UN which severely undermined his credibility with Palestinian people earlier this year. Palestinian Authority officials will present more arguments in March urging the International Criminal Court to investigate possible war crimes during the Israeli offensive in Palestinian-ruled Gaze, the court's chief prosecutor said. The ICC prosecutor launched a preliminary examination in 2009 to establish whether war crimes were committed by either side in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority has recognised the ICC's jurisdiction in a bid to allow a court investigation. "They will be back in March with more legal arguments, so we are letting them come here before making any decision," ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview at his office in The Hague. "It is a very complex decision."...

So it's not just the 'military echelon' in Israel that needs to worry about where its personnel travel in case are arrested. Unfortunately there's not much chance the UK police will actually carry out their responsibilities under the Hague convention but who knows? And why the hell is the British Labour Party inviting this architect of war criminality to speak at its conference this week in the first place? British lawyers for several Palestinian families are seeking to obtain an international arrest warrant for the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, in a London court over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Barak, who was in overall charge of Israeli's offensive in Gaza earlier this year, is due to speak at a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton today. Barak is due to meet Gordon Brown today and David Miliband, the foreign secretary, tomorrow. more

Hot on the heels of the Goldstone report, which recommends the ICC take a look at Israel's crimes in Gaza, the court's chief prosecutor has taken up the challenge by considering the case of one IDF officer, Lt Col Benjamin. Israel has not signed up to the ICC but South Africa, of which Benjamin is also a citizen, has. Unfortunately, the US is likely to pressure the court not to go ahead with a prosecution given the implications for all the officers and soldiers of the Israeli armed forces. As it is IDF personnel likely won't be taking many foreign holidays as they may be seen as wanted criminals in many jurisdictions. As chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo has so far steered clear of controversial cases. In doing so, he hoped to allay U.S. fears that the ICC would become a politicized tool for settling scores. Which is why it's so surprising that Moreno-Ocampo is now considering an investigation into whether Reserve Lt. Col. David Be...

The International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says he could launch an investigation into Israel's use of white phosphorus shells in Gaza. This is a welcome change of heart from Moreno-Campo whose initial response to evidence submitted by the Arab League and Amnesty International was dismissive. Since then he has agreed that the Palestine Authority is a 'enough like a state' to being a charge against Israel to the court. "We are in the analysis phase. I have not yet decided whether we will launch an investigation, but it is a possibility," said report at ynetnews The ynetnews report counterposes the recent issue of an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan, Omar el-Bashir, implying that there may be some kind of trade-off going on.

From Press TV A top Israeli diplomat says that Israeli troops should get a medal for the recent war in Gaza, rejecting calls for war crimes investigations. "I think the Israeli troops should get a medal for the way they conducted themselves in that war," Dan Gillerman said in an interview with Australian daily The Age on Monday. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has set up a committee to investigate Israeli war crimes and rother human rights violations in Gaza.