ICC monitors Israeli-Palestinian violence for war crimes
Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, says she is monitoring the escalating violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel.
The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court says she is monitoring the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas for potential war crimes.
“I note with great concern the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in and around Gaza, and the possible commission of crimes under the Rome Statute,” Fatou Bensouda said in a statement on Wednesday.
In March, the Hague-based tribunal announced a formal investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories. The inquiry is expected to focus on the actions of both Israel and militant group Hamas during the Gaza war in 2014, as well as Israel’s settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC. It argues the court lacks jurisdiction to take up the case because the Palestinians, despite joining the ICC in 2015, aren’t an independent sovereign state.
