The International Criminal Court announces the opening of an investigation into war crimes in the Palestinian territories

Hague-Sana

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, announced today the opening of an official investigation into war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

Bensouda said in a statement today reported by Wafa that the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court has launched an investigation into the situation in Palestine, affecting the crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the court, which were committed on the 13th of June 2014.

The Israeli occupation continues its crimes and violations against the Palestinians, their property and their sanctities, through systematic killings, daily arrest campaigns, house demolitions and the seizure of more Palestinian land with the aim of expanding its colonial plans and permanently eliminating any opportunity to establish an independent and geographically connected Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Bensouda explained that under the Rome Statute, if there is a rationale for starting an investigation, the Office of the Prosecutor is obligated to "act".

On the fifth of last month, the judges of the International Criminal Court issued a decision stipulating that the court has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, on the grounds that Palestine is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Bensouda announced in December 2019 that she wanted to open a full investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories and asked the court's judges to confirm that the court's jurisdiction includes the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, namely the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.