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Are the Palestinians Changing their Legal Tactics in the International Courts?
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Alan Baker and Lea Bilke - For some years, the Palestinian leadership has attempted to politically manipulate the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to criminalize Israel's political and military leadership. Now, the Palestinian leadership appears to be changing its legal tactics and veering toward an attempt to criminalize Israel itself at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 as an independent judicial body to try individual criminals accused of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The International Court of Justice is the UN's principal judicial organ and is entrusted with solving issues of litigation between states. Based on recent statements by the Palestinian leadership, they appear to be considering an appeal to the ICJ in order to question the very legality of Israel's status and actions in the territories in light of international law and the Oslo Accords. Should the Palestinians choose to litigate against Israel in the ICJ, the action would not be possible in light of the lack of jurisdiction. While, in the 1950s, Israel informed the UN of its acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ, subject to a number of caveats, Israel notified the UN Secretary-General on November 21, 1985, that it no longer accepts the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ. The Palestinian leadership alleging before the UN and ICJ that Israel is violating the Oslo Accords would be ironic in light of the long list of fundamental breaches of those accords by the Palestinians, whether by continuing incitement, support for and advocacy of terror, economic boycott, sponsoring and supporting the BDS campaign, and refusal to resume negotiations. Their citation of the Oslo Accords is even more ironic in light of their lack of will to honor a host of specific commitments pursuant to the Accords. These include Palestinian attempts to alter the status of the territories unilaterally; their active engagement in international diplomacy in violation of their commitments not to be so involved; their accession to international treaties and organizations; and their expulsion by the Hamas terror organization from any capability of governing Gaza. Amb. Alan Baker, former legal counsel to Israel's foreign ministry, heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center. Lea Bilke is a law student at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, specializing in international and European law.