Israel protests ICC calls to help ‘Palestine’ victims

JERUSALEM

Israel has lodged a formal protest with the International Criminal Court (ICC) following recent calls by the latter to help the “victims of the situation in Palestine”, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

According to the Times of Israel news website, officials at Israel’s ministries of justice and foreign affairs were angered by the court move, which, they say, serves to cast doubt on The Hague-based tribunal’s objectivity.

Last month, three ICC judges called for the establishment of “a system of public information and outreach activities for the benefit of the victims and affected communities of the situation in Palestine”.

The Times of Israel quoted one unnamed Israeli source as saying: “The Israeli government was shocked by the judge’s decision on July.”

The source went on to assert that the international court lacked jurisdiction over the Palestine-Israel file.

According to the same source, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has yet to rule whether the court enjoys jurisdiction over matters related to the perennial conflict.

In late May, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called on the ICC to launch an investigation into illegal Israeli settlement-building and alleged war crimes.

Palestine formally joined the ICC in 2015 after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute the previous year.

Although Israel signed the Rome Statute (which established the court) in 2000, it is not a member of the ICC.