[Jerusalem Post] Rebecca Anna Stoil - International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is reportedly looking into the possibility that the PA can initiate an ICC investigation into whether Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. However, such an outcome is considered "extremely far-fetched," says Dr. Robbie Sabel, a lecturer in international law at Hebrew University and former legal adviser to the Israel Foreign Ministry. First, the court would have to determine that either Hamas or the PA had sovereignty over Gaza. No Palestinian body has been permitted to join any international organization that implies statehood, and for the ICC case to be valid, they would have to be recognized as the sovereign rulers of Gaza and then be allowed to join the ICC. "But then, every person who is a citizen of this Hamas 'state' would be subject to the court's jurisdiction," said Sabel. "There's no way any Palestinian organization would subject its members to the jurisdiction of the court" because then any of their members who committed a crime could also be tried. "This attempt is a complete nonstarter...but they've already achieved their media goal," Sabel added.
2009-02-09 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive