The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been asked to probe possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories by several countries. On February 12, 2021, representatives from the Palestinian Authority, Algeria, South Africa, Turkey, and Tunisia formally asked the ICC to investigate violations of international criminal law committed by Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The countries requested that the ICC investigate and prosecute violations of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court in 2002. If the request is approved, it would mark the fourth time the ICC has accepted a case involving Palestinian territories, including the investigation into war crimes during the 2008–09 Gaza warfare and two investigations into the matter of Israeli settlement.
The five-nation request cited an “ongoing conflict that has been ongoing for decades, including new violence in the Gaza Strip” and also cited the construction of the security wall by Israeli forces without the consent of the indigenous Palestinians as well as the “illegitimate expropriation and exploitation of Palestinian natural resources.”
The countries have requested that ICC investigate war crimes in the Palestinian territories, including “home demolitions, collective punishments, extrajudicial killings, forced population transfer, and detention without charge and trial.” The countries also asked that the investigation focus on “violations of basic rights of Palestinians under international humanitarian law, including the right to life, health, and education, as well as freedom of movement and assembly, and the right to liberty and security of person.”
The request is the latest expression of the international community’s concern over the worsening situation in the Palestinian territories. In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to investigate possible war crimes committed in the territories, and the United Nations Human Rights Council also established a commission to produce a report on the situation.
The ICC’s endorsement of the request by the five countries is expected to lead to a formal investigation, though the involvement of Palestine will likely depend on the decision of the court. It remains to be seen whether the ICC will accept the request and begin a full-fledged investigation into war crimes perpetrated in the Palestinian territories.