Euro-Med Monitor welcomes ICC’s decision to open formal Israeli war crimes probe in OPT

Geneva (QNN)- The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to open a formal investigation into Israeli war crimes in occupied Palestinian territories, saying this “can be a gateway to deter Israel’s escalated and accelerated violations against Palestinians.”

“We welcome today’s announcement of the ICC Chief Prosecutor to open a formal investigation into War Crimes & Crimes Against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories,” Euro-Med Monitor said in a statement.

“This decision can be a gateway to deter #Israel’s escalated & accelerated violations against Palestinians.”

Euro-Med Monitor said that the ICC is the Palestinians’ last hope to challenge the increasing rate of Israeli demolitions of Palestinians homes and villages across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem; the continued illegal blockade on Gaza; unconstrained settlement construction; and extra-judicial executions.

“This decision opens the way to challenging Israeli impunity even if no individual is ever punished,” said Richard Folk, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Euro-Med Monitor.

It also said that the investigation will be a “crucial test for the ICC’s credibility and capacity to uphold the rule of law.”

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda said on Wednesday that she launched a formal probe into war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The investigation will cover crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that are alleged to have been committed in the Situation since 13 June 2014, the date to which reference is made in the Referral of the Situation to my Office,” she added.

The prosecutor said that the Office will determine the “priorities concerning the investigation in due time, “in light of the operational challenges the office confronts from COVID-19, and the limited resources available to the office, and the current heavy workload.

“Such challenges, however, as daunting and complex as they are, cannot divert us from ultimately discharging the responsibilities that the Rome Statute places upon the Office,” stated Bensouda.