5 feb 2015
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) warned of the appointment of Nikolay Mladenov as United Nations envoy, replacing Robert Serry, to the Middle East peace process for being known for his support of Israel.
Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the PFLP Political Bureau, said of the appointment “It is contradictory to any effort leading to real peace with justice in the region; rather Mladenov will offer a real cover for the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”.
Ghoul said, in a statement on Thursday, that the appointment of Mladenov in this position is a further attempt by powerful parties in the international organization, particularly the United States, to strengthen the position of the occupation state in international institutions concerned with the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the same context, Ghoul denounced the attacks and pressures to which William Schabas, chair of the International Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli attack on Gaza and its war crimes against the Palestinian people, was subjected to by Israel and its allies, forcing his resignation and leading to his replacement by a US judge on the panel.
“This was clearly an attempt by the Netanyahu government to cut the road in front of the findings of Schabas on the crimes of the occupation in its war on Gaza”, said Ghoul.
Ghoul called on PA President Abu Mazen to take action urgently to stop the appointment of Mladenov because of his clear history of bias in favor of the Israeli occupation.
“It is definitely in contradiction with the rights of the Palestinian people and incompatible with the growing international public demand to hold the Israeli state accountable for its crimes and siege, and to support the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and justice”, he said.
Serry, whose name has been linked to Gaza reconstruction, is to end his work as UN envoy for Middle East peace process in March. He has been serving the position since 2007.
The legal period of the UN envoy for this assignment is five years. However, the UN Secretary General has the power to extend the term as happened with Serry who served the position for eight successive years.
Mladenov is known for his statements in support of Israel and justification of its crimes against the Palestinian people since he was foreign minister of Bulgaria.
Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the PFLP Political Bureau, said of the appointment “It is contradictory to any effort leading to real peace with justice in the region; rather Mladenov will offer a real cover for the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”.
Ghoul said, in a statement on Thursday, that the appointment of Mladenov in this position is a further attempt by powerful parties in the international organization, particularly the United States, to strengthen the position of the occupation state in international institutions concerned with the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the same context, Ghoul denounced the attacks and pressures to which William Schabas, chair of the International Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli attack on Gaza and its war crimes against the Palestinian people, was subjected to by Israel and its allies, forcing his resignation and leading to his replacement by a US judge on the panel.
“This was clearly an attempt by the Netanyahu government to cut the road in front of the findings of Schabas on the crimes of the occupation in its war on Gaza”, said Ghoul.
Ghoul called on PA President Abu Mazen to take action urgently to stop the appointment of Mladenov because of his clear history of bias in favor of the Israeli occupation.
“It is definitely in contradiction with the rights of the Palestinian people and incompatible with the growing international public demand to hold the Israeli state accountable for its crimes and siege, and to support the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and justice”, he said.
Serry, whose name has been linked to Gaza reconstruction, is to end his work as UN envoy for Middle East peace process in March. He has been serving the position since 2007.
The legal period of the UN envoy for this assignment is five years. However, the UN Secretary General has the power to extend the term as happened with Serry who served the position for eight successive years.
Mladenov is known for his statements in support of Israel and justification of its crimes against the Palestinian people since he was foreign minister of Bulgaria.
Resigned head of the UN probe commission William Schabas said Israeli leaders' claims against him do not offend him because he does not respect them at all.
"I was not insulted. To be insulted you need to respect the people who criticize you, and I do not have respect for them," he replied to a question in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth about whether Israeli officials' scathing attack on him insulted him and forced him to resign.
"Even if there was another committee, Netanyahu would come out against it. People like Netanyahu will accuse any committee of being anti-Israel," he said.
Responding to the consultation work he provided for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the past, Schabas said, "I have a long record of consulting activities and they did not ask me about that work."
"I am a professional who is invited to give opinions to organizations and governments. I do not take sides and I did not represent the Palestinians."
When asked if his resignation was a victory for Israel as some claimed, Schabas said, "When the report is published, Israel will know if it succeeded or failed. It is childish to define the resignation as a victory."
"I was not insulted. To be insulted you need to respect the people who criticize you, and I do not have respect for them," he replied to a question in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth about whether Israeli officials' scathing attack on him insulted him and forced him to resign.
"Even if there was another committee, Netanyahu would come out against it. People like Netanyahu will accuse any committee of being anti-Israel," he said.
Responding to the consultation work he provided for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the past, Schabas said, "I have a long record of consulting activities and they did not ask me about that work."
"I am a professional who is invited to give opinions to organizations and governments. I do not take sides and I did not represent the Palestinians."
When asked if his resignation was a victory for Israel as some claimed, Schabas said, "When the report is published, Israel will know if it succeeded or failed. It is childish to define the resignation as a victory."
UNRWA announced, Thursday, that it had begun distributing its 2015 emergency food assistance to needy refugee families in the Gaza Strip.
According to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, UNRWA revealed, in a recent press release, that the move comes as part of a wider framework to mantain its support of Palestinian refugee families in Gaza who are unable to meet their basic food security needs.
According to UNRWA the food assistance will include about 868 thousand refugees in Gaza, while keeping into consideration the size of the family and their poverty level.
This emergency food assistance comes in a time where Palestinian refugee families in Gaza continue to face worsening economic conditions as a result of the siege and restrictions imposed on the entry of goods and movement of people, in addition to the latest Israeli aggression that targeted the entire Gaza Strip.
UNRWA categorizes families whose income is no more than $1 a day as living "under extreme poverty", while families whose income is no more than $3 as living "under the poverty line".
UNRWA is responsible for providing food assistance, shelter and protection to more than 4.7 million Palestinian refugees in general. They are distributed in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
According to Robert Turner, UNRWA's Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip, 70% of Gaza’s population has refugee status, with more than 1.2 million under UNRWA’s care. He predicted that the number of those refugees will increase to 1.5 million by the year 2020.
Palestinians now make up the largest refugee population in the entire world, according to UN statistics.
According to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, UNRWA revealed, in a recent press release, that the move comes as part of a wider framework to mantain its support of Palestinian refugee families in Gaza who are unable to meet their basic food security needs.
According to UNRWA the food assistance will include about 868 thousand refugees in Gaza, while keeping into consideration the size of the family and their poverty level.
This emergency food assistance comes in a time where Palestinian refugee families in Gaza continue to face worsening economic conditions as a result of the siege and restrictions imposed on the entry of goods and movement of people, in addition to the latest Israeli aggression that targeted the entire Gaza Strip.
UNRWA categorizes families whose income is no more than $1 a day as living "under extreme poverty", while families whose income is no more than $3 as living "under the poverty line".
UNRWA is responsible for providing food assistance, shelter and protection to more than 4.7 million Palestinian refugees in general. They are distributed in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
According to Robert Turner, UNRWA's Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip, 70% of Gaza’s population has refugee status, with more than 1.2 million under UNRWA’s care. He predicted that the number of those refugees will increase to 1.5 million by the year 2020.
Palestinians now make up the largest refugee population in the entire world, according to UN statistics.
4 feb 2015
On 2 February 2015 Prof. dr. William A. Schabas, Chairperson of the Independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the 2014 Gaza Conflict established by the Human Rights Council at its 21st special session on July 23 2014, submitted his resignation. The members of the COI were appointed in August 2014 by the President of the Human Rights Council pursuant to recommendations by the Office of the Hight Commissioner for Human Rights.
After its establishment, the COI started its work despite severe restrictions imposed by Israel and the launching of a smear campaign including harassment, intimidation and abuse directed against its Chairperson Prof. Schabas and the Commission and the Human Rights Council in general.
In line with its notorious history of non-cooperation with the United Nations including its special rapporteurs and investigative teams, Israel categorically refused to cooperate with the COI and allow it entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, to carry out its mandate, despite consistent attempts by the COI and various international actors to secure Israeli cooperation in this regard.
Following the submission of a letter by Israel to the President of the Human Rights Council demanding Prof. Schabas' dismissal on the pretext that he had provided an expert legal opinion to the PLO in 2012, and the President's subsequent indication that he would seek legal advice from the UN Headquarters in New York on the matter, Prof. Schabas submitted his resignation explaning that the work of the Commission would be best served in this way given that it would be difficult for him to proceed with his work as Chairperson while a legal inquiry considering his removal is being conducted.
The Commission of Inquiry will continue its work with the remaining two commissioners as well as the Secretariat established by the OHCHR. Its report is expected to be presented at the Human Rights Council on 23 March 2015.
Despite the fact that the legal opinion provided by Prof. Schabas to the PLO in 2012 in no way indicates a conflict of interest with his work as a Commissioner, and was provided strictly in Prof. Schabas' capacity as a leading academic specialist in international law, Israel's insistence that he be dismissed is unsurprising given Israel's use of similar petty smear tactics inter alia in 2009, when it launched a campaign to discredit members of the Independent UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict in 2009 as well as over the past decades in relation to reports published by other UN bodies and mandated personnel addressing Israel's gross, systematic and persistent violations to international humanitarian and human rights law.
Schabas's departure highlights the sensitivity of the UN investigation just weeks after prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said they had started a preliminary inquiry into alleged atrocities in the Palestinian territories.
In the letter, Schabas said a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization that "[his] views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public," he wrote. "This work in defence of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks ...", Reuters reported.
Israel had long criticized Schabas's appointment, citing his record as a strong critic of the Zionist state and its current political leadership.
Schabas said his work for the PLO had prompted the Human Rights Council's executive on Monday to seek legal advice from UN headquarters about his position.
"I believe that it is difficult for the work to continue while a procedure is underway to consider whether the chair of the commission should be removed," he wrote.
The commission had largely finished gathering evidence and had begun writing the report, he added.
After its establishment, the COI started its work despite severe restrictions imposed by Israel and the launching of a smear campaign including harassment, intimidation and abuse directed against its Chairperson Prof. Schabas and the Commission and the Human Rights Council in general.
In line with its notorious history of non-cooperation with the United Nations including its special rapporteurs and investigative teams, Israel categorically refused to cooperate with the COI and allow it entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, to carry out its mandate, despite consistent attempts by the COI and various international actors to secure Israeli cooperation in this regard.
Following the submission of a letter by Israel to the President of the Human Rights Council demanding Prof. Schabas' dismissal on the pretext that he had provided an expert legal opinion to the PLO in 2012, and the President's subsequent indication that he would seek legal advice from the UN Headquarters in New York on the matter, Prof. Schabas submitted his resignation explaning that the work of the Commission would be best served in this way given that it would be difficult for him to proceed with his work as Chairperson while a legal inquiry considering his removal is being conducted.
The Commission of Inquiry will continue its work with the remaining two commissioners as well as the Secretariat established by the OHCHR. Its report is expected to be presented at the Human Rights Council on 23 March 2015.
Despite the fact that the legal opinion provided by Prof. Schabas to the PLO in 2012 in no way indicates a conflict of interest with his work as a Commissioner, and was provided strictly in Prof. Schabas' capacity as a leading academic specialist in international law, Israel's insistence that he be dismissed is unsurprising given Israel's use of similar petty smear tactics inter alia in 2009, when it launched a campaign to discredit members of the Independent UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict in 2009 as well as over the past decades in relation to reports published by other UN bodies and mandated personnel addressing Israel's gross, systematic and persistent violations to international humanitarian and human rights law.
Schabas's departure highlights the sensitivity of the UN investigation just weeks after prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said they had started a preliminary inquiry into alleged atrocities in the Palestinian territories.
In the letter, Schabas said a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization that "[his] views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public," he wrote. "This work in defence of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks ...", Reuters reported.
Israel had long criticized Schabas's appointment, citing his record as a strong critic of the Zionist state and its current political leadership.
Schabas said his work for the PLO had prompted the Human Rights Council's executive on Monday to seek legal advice from UN headquarters about his position.
"I believe that it is difficult for the work to continue while a procedure is underway to consider whether the chair of the commission should be removed," he wrote.
The commission had largely finished gathering evidence and had begun writing the report, he added.
3 feb 2015
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Israel has reportedly decided to continue its freeze on the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenue in retaliation for its attempts to join the International Criminal Court.
Israeli daily, Hayom reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave orders to withhold some one-hundred million US dollars the PA was supposed to receive as tax revenues for January. Israel has halted the transfer of tax revenues since last December. The report added that Tel Aviv would continue the sanction until the "completion" of Israel's punitive procedures against Palestine's ICC push. The Palestinians submitted documents to join the Hague-based court in early January. The move, which was opposed by both Israel and the US, will allow the investigators to probe Israeli crimes including the war on the Gaza strip last summer. |
Israel has called for the termination of a UN inquiry into its summer 2014 war on Gaza, in the wake of the resignation of the investigation committee’s head.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the shelving of the investigation on Tuesday, after William Schabas, the head of the UN inquiry committee, resigned a day before.
“After the resignation of the committee chairman who was biased against Israel, the report that was written at the behest of the UN Human Rights Council -- an anti-Israel body, the decisions of which prove it has nothing to do with human rights -- needs to be shelved,” Netanyahu said.
In August 2014, the UN Human Rights Council appointed Schabas, a Canadian academic, to lead a group examining war crimes committed by Israel during its military aggression against Gaza.
Schabas’ appointment had angered Israel from the beginning as he has been a strong critic of the Tel Aviv regime.
The Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took a dim view of Schabas’ resignation, saying, “It won’t change the committee’s report’s conclusions.”
Israel claims Schabas is biased toward the Palestinians due to a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2012. However, Schabas insists that consultancy work he did for the PLO was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
“Under the circumstances and with great regret, I believe the important work of the commission is best served if I resign with immediate effect,” Schabas wrote in his resignation letter.
Schabas stated in the Monday letter to the UNHRC that he would resign so that Israel’s allegations of bias could not overshadow the preparation of the report and its findings, slated to be released in March.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote in the letter, adding, “This work in defense of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Joachim Ruecker, the president of the UNHRC, has accepted the resignation, his spokesman, Rolando Gomez, stated, adding that “in this way even an appearance of conflict of interest is avoided, thus preserving the integrity of the process.”
Gomez further noted that the UN commission is in “the final phase of collecting evidence” and a new chairman could be named as early as Tuesday.
About 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught, which started in early July 2014 and ended in late August.
Some 100,000 people are still homeless in the besieged coastal sliver.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the shelving of the investigation on Tuesday, after William Schabas, the head of the UN inquiry committee, resigned a day before.
“After the resignation of the committee chairman who was biased against Israel, the report that was written at the behest of the UN Human Rights Council -- an anti-Israel body, the decisions of which prove it has nothing to do with human rights -- needs to be shelved,” Netanyahu said.
In August 2014, the UN Human Rights Council appointed Schabas, a Canadian academic, to lead a group examining war crimes committed by Israel during its military aggression against Gaza.
Schabas’ appointment had angered Israel from the beginning as he has been a strong critic of the Tel Aviv regime.
The Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took a dim view of Schabas’ resignation, saying, “It won’t change the committee’s report’s conclusions.”
Israel claims Schabas is biased toward the Palestinians due to a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2012. However, Schabas insists that consultancy work he did for the PLO was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
“Under the circumstances and with great regret, I believe the important work of the commission is best served if I resign with immediate effect,” Schabas wrote in his resignation letter.
Schabas stated in the Monday letter to the UNHRC that he would resign so that Israel’s allegations of bias could not overshadow the preparation of the report and its findings, slated to be released in March.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote in the letter, adding, “This work in defense of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Joachim Ruecker, the president of the UNHRC, has accepted the resignation, his spokesman, Rolando Gomez, stated, adding that “in this way even an appearance of conflict of interest is avoided, thus preserving the integrity of the process.”
Gomez further noted that the UN commission is in “the final phase of collecting evidence” and a new chairman could be named as early as Tuesday.
About 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught, which started in early July 2014 and ended in late August.
Some 100,000 people are still homeless in the besieged coastal sliver.
Hamas said the resignation of William Schabas, the head of United
Nations' inquiry commission on the Israeli war crimes in the latest
aggression on Gaza, reflects the dangerous Israeli blackmail and the
huge pressure practiced by Israel and the Zionist lobby on the
commission and its head.
Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement on Tuesday, Israel's pressure on the commission and its head aimed at hiding the truth and escaping from punishment.
This clearly displays the organized Israeli state terrorism that targets anyone who tries to unveil the truth and bring Israeli leaders to account in the international forums, said Barhoum.
He called on the international community not to surrender to this pressure, to continue probing the Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people, and to hasten bringing the Israeli leaders to account for their crimes and terrorism.
Schabas resigned to protest the Israeli allegations of bias due to a consultancy work he did for the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to Reuters.
Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement on Tuesday, Israel's pressure on the commission and its head aimed at hiding the truth and escaping from punishment.
This clearly displays the organized Israeli state terrorism that targets anyone who tries to unveil the truth and bring Israeli leaders to account in the international forums, said Barhoum.
He called on the international community not to surrender to this pressure, to continue probing the Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinian people, and to hasten bringing the Israeli leaders to account for their crimes and terrorism.
Schabas resigned to protest the Israeli allegations of bias due to a consultancy work he did for the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to Reuters.
Canadian academic William Schabas
The head of a UN inquiry into Israel’s summer war on the Gaza Strip says he will step down due to what he calls “malicious attacks” by the Tel Aviv regime.
In August 2014, the head of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed William Schabas, a Canadian academic, to lead a group examining suspected war crimes during the Israeli regime's military offensive in Gaza.
Israel has accused him of being biased towards the Palestinians due to a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2012. However, Schabas insists that consultancy work he did for the PLO was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
He said in a Monday letter to the UNHRC that he would resign so that the Israeli allegations of bias could not overshadow the preparation of the report and its findings, slated to be released in March.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote in the letter, adding, “This work in defense of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Schabas' appointment had angered Israel from the beginning as it he has been a strong critic of the regime and its political leadership.
About 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught, which started in early July 2014 and ended in late August. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were also injured.
Some 100,000 people are still homeless in the besieged coastal sliver, with thousands of homes being in need of repair after the Israeli war.
Head of UN War Crimes Inquiry Resigns After Israeli Accusations of Pro-Gaza Bias
The head of a UN inquiry into last summer’s Israeli military offensive in Gaza has said he will resign after Israeli allegations of bias, due to consultancy work he did for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).
William Schabas, a Canadian academic, was appointed last August by the head of the UN Human Rights Council to lead a three-member group looking into war crimes during the offensive.
Al Ray reports that, according to the Guardian and in a letter to the commission, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Schabas said he would step down immediately to prevent the issue from overshadowing the preparation of the report and its findings, which are due to be published in March.
Schabas’ departure highlights the sensitivity of the UN investigation just weeks after prosecutors at the international criminal court in The Hague said they had started a preliminary inquiry into atrocities committed in the Palestinian territories.
In the letter, Schabas said that a legal opinion he authored for the PLO in 2012, and for which he was paid some $1,300 (£900), was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote. “This work in defence of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Israel has long criticized Schabas’ appointment, citing his record as a strong critic of "the Jewish state" and its current political leadership. Schabas said his work for the PLO had prompted the Human Rights Council’s executive to seek legal advice about his position from UN headquarters on Monday.
“I believe that it is difficult for the work to continue while a procedure is underway to consider whether the chair of the commission should be removed,” he wrote, adding that the commission had largely finished gathering evidence and had begun writing the report.
The appointment of Schabas, who lives in Britain and teaches international law at Middlesex University, was welcomed at the time by Hamas but was harshly criticized by Jewish groups in the US.
Schabas, at the time, had said that he was determined to put aside any views about “things that have gone on in the past”.
The commission is looking into the behavior of both the Israelis and of Hamas.
The head of a UN inquiry into Israel’s summer war on the Gaza Strip says he will step down due to what he calls “malicious attacks” by the Tel Aviv regime.
In August 2014, the head of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed William Schabas, a Canadian academic, to lead a group examining suspected war crimes during the Israeli regime's military offensive in Gaza.
Israel has accused him of being biased towards the Palestinians due to a legal opinion he wrote for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2012. However, Schabas insists that consultancy work he did for the PLO was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
He said in a Monday letter to the UNHRC that he would resign so that the Israeli allegations of bias could not overshadow the preparation of the report and its findings, slated to be released in March.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote in the letter, adding, “This work in defense of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Schabas' appointment had angered Israel from the beginning as it he has been a strong critic of the regime and its political leadership.
About 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught, which started in early July 2014 and ended in late August. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were also injured.
Some 100,000 people are still homeless in the besieged coastal sliver, with thousands of homes being in need of repair after the Israeli war.
Head of UN War Crimes Inquiry Resigns After Israeli Accusations of Pro-Gaza Bias
The head of a UN inquiry into last summer’s Israeli military offensive in Gaza has said he will resign after Israeli allegations of bias, due to consultancy work he did for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).
William Schabas, a Canadian academic, was appointed last August by the head of the UN Human Rights Council to lead a three-member group looking into war crimes during the offensive.
Al Ray reports that, according to the Guardian and in a letter to the commission, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Schabas said he would step down immediately to prevent the issue from overshadowing the preparation of the report and its findings, which are due to be published in March.
Schabas’ departure highlights the sensitivity of the UN investigation just weeks after prosecutors at the international criminal court in The Hague said they had started a preliminary inquiry into atrocities committed in the Palestinian territories.
In the letter, Schabas said that a legal opinion he authored for the PLO in 2012, and for which he was paid some $1,300 (£900), was not different from advice he had given to many other governments and organizations.
“My views on Israel and Palestine as well as on many other issues were well known and very public,” he wrote. “This work in defence of human rights appears to have made me a huge target for malicious attacks.”
Israel has long criticized Schabas’ appointment, citing his record as a strong critic of "the Jewish state" and its current political leadership. Schabas said his work for the PLO had prompted the Human Rights Council’s executive to seek legal advice about his position from UN headquarters on Monday.
“I believe that it is difficult for the work to continue while a procedure is underway to consider whether the chair of the commission should be removed,” he wrote, adding that the commission had largely finished gathering evidence and had begun writing the report.
The appointment of Schabas, who lives in Britain and teaches international law at Middlesex University, was welcomed at the time by Hamas but was harshly criticized by Jewish groups in the US.
Schabas, at the time, had said that he was determined to put aside any views about “things that have gone on in the past”.
The commission is looking into the behavior of both the Israelis and of Hamas.
1 feb 2015
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A senior Palestinian Authority official says the decision to join the International Criminal Court is irreversible.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has said that the Palestinian Authority’s leadership is heading towards becoming a member in the ICC. He accused Israel of violating all international laws and conventions through its reliance on the logic of arrogance. He also accused the US Congress of protecting Israel. The Palestinian official further warned that the Palestinian Authority will review its political and security ties with Tel Aviv if Israel continues its policy of settlement expansion and withholding the Palestinian tax money. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said Palestine will become an ICC member by April 1. Tel Aviv fears the prosecution of its leaders over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinians. |
29 jan 2015
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Israel has decided to reduce electricity supplies to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, citing a debt of more than 450-million dollars.
The move comes weeks after Israel froze the Palestinian Authority's tax revenues in retaliation for joining the International Criminal Court. Private Palestinian firm JDEC, which distributes energy in the occupied territories, has condemned the Israeli move as collective punishment. Israel Electric Corporation says supply to the West Bank will be cut for an hour each morning and another hour at night. It said the measure will remain in place until the Palestinian Authority begins to settle its debts. Back in 2012, Tel Aviv again delayed payments to Palestinians following a UN vote acknowledging Palestine as a non-member state. |
28 jan 2015
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem Wednesday accused the Israeli occupation army of targeting Palestinian civilians during last summer’s offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.
“A hallmark of the fighting in Gaza this summer was the numerous strikes on residential buildings, destroying them while their occupants were still inside,” a 49-page report by B’Tselem read. Download Full report, PDF
“This aspect of the fighting was particularly appalling”, and was “the result of a policy formulated by government officials and the senior military command,” the report added.
The non-governmental organization probed 70 Israeli raids killing 606 Palestinians, 70 percent among whom were either under 18, over 60, or female,
According to a UN report, over 2,200 Palestinians, 70% among whom civilians, were mass-murdered during last summer’s 51-day Israeli offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
"You cannot say that the army didn't know or couldn't know how many civilians would get killed during those attacks," B'Tselem's head of research Yael Stein said.
"You can't maybe (know) on the first day or the second day. But on the 10th day or the 20th day, when you see how many civilians are getting killed... these attacks shouldn't have happened," she added.
Israeli rights group questions legality of targeting Gaza homes in war
B’Tselem says Hamas rocket fire did not provide moral or legal justification for policy that led to 606 deaths in 70 attacks
Serious questions have been raised by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem about the legality of Israel’s policy of targeting dozens of Palestinian homes during last summer’s war in Gaza – a strategy that led to hundreds of civilian deaths.
The report is the latest alleging serious breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel during the 50-day conflict. According to B’Tselem, the policy of striking residences led to the deaths of 606 people in 70 attacks on homes that it examined. Among the dead were 93 children under the age of five.
The claims come at a sensitive time for Israel following the announcement this month of an initial investigation by the international criminal court into whether war crimes were committed in Gaza.
Although a number of individual incidents are being investigated by the Israeli military attorney general, the specific policy of targeting residences is not under investigation, despite the high death toll. The issue could potentially be taken up by an ICC investigation.
The prosecution of the war is also being investigated by the UN Human Rights Council, by a commission of inquiry set up by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and by the Israeli state comptroller, Joseph Shapira, who has been tasked with investigating decisions made by Israeli political and military leaders.
The B’Tselem research follows hard on the heels of a report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel this month that strongly criticised the Israeli military’s system for warning Gaza’s citizens of impending strikes during the conflict, also citing the lack of safe evacuation routes and strikes against rescue teams.
In December, Amnesty International said the destruction of four high-rise buildings during the conflict was a war crime “carried out deliberately and with no military justification”.
The latest claims go further than the question of whether or not individual soldiers acted improperly, taking aim instead at Israeli ministers – including the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu – who approved the policy of attacking homes.
“This is something we had not seen in previous rounds of violence in Gaza,” said B’Tselem’s executive director Hagai El-Ad. “[Israel] should have been aware this high civilian death toll would be the outcome of this policy. And if not on day one, then certainly by day 12. Yet the policy continued until the end of the violence.”
Although B’Tselem sent a copy of the report to Netanyahu’s office for comment more than a week ago, his office had not responded by the time of publication. However, Israeli officials have criticised previous reports and investigations for focusing on Israeli actions rather than Hamas rocket fire out of Gaza.
The Israeli military rejected the report’s claims in a statement released on Wednesday morning. “The IDF does not attack residential buildings in Gaza – but rather military targets that are often located within residential buildings. The IDF categorically rejects the assertion of a policy of deliberately attacking residential homes solely on the basis that they were residences belonging to members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.”
It said residential buildings were only attacked “where they became legitimate military targets, or when a person constituting a legitimate military target was in the structure” following an assessment “with regard to the principle of proportionality”.
The wholesale targeting of homes – often of the families of members of Gaza’s militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad – was a departure from the two previous conflicts in Gaza where the tactic was used relatively rarely by the Israeli military.
Although B’Tselem conceded that Hamas and others were responsible for breaches of international law by targeting civilian areas with indiscriminate rocket fire, it said that did not provide either moral or legal justification for a policy that claimed so many civilian lives.
The details in the report – including 13 incidents in which a total of 179 people died – rehearse a litany of horror. In one of the worst incidents, the bombing of the al-Dali building in Khan Younis on 29 July 2014, 34 people were killed including 18 minors.
Under international humanitarian law covering conflict, there is a two-fold test for targeting civilian sites. The first is whether the building is being used for a specific military purpose, for instance storing weapons, or as a position from which attacks are being launched. The second consideration is whether the attack confers “a clear military advantage” that outweighs any civilian deaths.
In a number of cases listed by the report, Israeli military spokesmen justified attacks on houses because of the affiliation of a resident with a militant group and his past history, rather than in terms of activity going on within the house during the conflict.
Although senior IDF commanders and the Israeli military attorney general, Danny Efroni, have argued that homes were used as “operational headquarters” by Hamas, the group says that despite requests no evidence has been provided in the vast majority of cases to justify the strikes.
Separately, the UN Relief and Works Agency announced it had been forced to suspend its cash assistance programme in Gaza for repairs to damaged and destroyed homes and for rental subsidies to the homeless because of a $585m (£385m) shortfall in aid pledged by donors but not delivered.
“We are talking about thousands of families who continue to suffer through this cold winter with inadequate shelter. People are literally sleeping amongst the rubble, children have died of hypothermia,” said the agency’s director in Gaza, Robert Turner. “$5.4bn was pledged at the Cairo conference last October and virtually none of it has reached Gaza. This is distressing and unacceptable.”
“A hallmark of the fighting in Gaza this summer was the numerous strikes on residential buildings, destroying them while their occupants were still inside,” a 49-page report by B’Tselem read. Download Full report, PDF
“This aspect of the fighting was particularly appalling”, and was “the result of a policy formulated by government officials and the senior military command,” the report added.
The non-governmental organization probed 70 Israeli raids killing 606 Palestinians, 70 percent among whom were either under 18, over 60, or female,
According to a UN report, over 2,200 Palestinians, 70% among whom civilians, were mass-murdered during last summer’s 51-day Israeli offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
"You cannot say that the army didn't know or couldn't know how many civilians would get killed during those attacks," B'Tselem's head of research Yael Stein said.
"You can't maybe (know) on the first day or the second day. But on the 10th day or the 20th day, when you see how many civilians are getting killed... these attacks shouldn't have happened," she added.
Israeli rights group questions legality of targeting Gaza homes in war
B’Tselem says Hamas rocket fire did not provide moral or legal justification for policy that led to 606 deaths in 70 attacks
Serious questions have been raised by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem about the legality of Israel’s policy of targeting dozens of Palestinian homes during last summer’s war in Gaza – a strategy that led to hundreds of civilian deaths.
The report is the latest alleging serious breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel during the 50-day conflict. According to B’Tselem, the policy of striking residences led to the deaths of 606 people in 70 attacks on homes that it examined. Among the dead were 93 children under the age of five.
The claims come at a sensitive time for Israel following the announcement this month of an initial investigation by the international criminal court into whether war crimes were committed in Gaza.
Although a number of individual incidents are being investigated by the Israeli military attorney general, the specific policy of targeting residences is not under investigation, despite the high death toll. The issue could potentially be taken up by an ICC investigation.
The prosecution of the war is also being investigated by the UN Human Rights Council, by a commission of inquiry set up by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and by the Israeli state comptroller, Joseph Shapira, who has been tasked with investigating decisions made by Israeli political and military leaders.
The B’Tselem research follows hard on the heels of a report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel this month that strongly criticised the Israeli military’s system for warning Gaza’s citizens of impending strikes during the conflict, also citing the lack of safe evacuation routes and strikes against rescue teams.
In December, Amnesty International said the destruction of four high-rise buildings during the conflict was a war crime “carried out deliberately and with no military justification”.
The latest claims go further than the question of whether or not individual soldiers acted improperly, taking aim instead at Israeli ministers – including the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu – who approved the policy of attacking homes.
“This is something we had not seen in previous rounds of violence in Gaza,” said B’Tselem’s executive director Hagai El-Ad. “[Israel] should have been aware this high civilian death toll would be the outcome of this policy. And if not on day one, then certainly by day 12. Yet the policy continued until the end of the violence.”
Although B’Tselem sent a copy of the report to Netanyahu’s office for comment more than a week ago, his office had not responded by the time of publication. However, Israeli officials have criticised previous reports and investigations for focusing on Israeli actions rather than Hamas rocket fire out of Gaza.
The Israeli military rejected the report’s claims in a statement released on Wednesday morning. “The IDF does not attack residential buildings in Gaza – but rather military targets that are often located within residential buildings. The IDF categorically rejects the assertion of a policy of deliberately attacking residential homes solely on the basis that they were residences belonging to members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.”
It said residential buildings were only attacked “where they became legitimate military targets, or when a person constituting a legitimate military target was in the structure” following an assessment “with regard to the principle of proportionality”.
The wholesale targeting of homes – often of the families of members of Gaza’s militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad – was a departure from the two previous conflicts in Gaza where the tactic was used relatively rarely by the Israeli military.
Although B’Tselem conceded that Hamas and others were responsible for breaches of international law by targeting civilian areas with indiscriminate rocket fire, it said that did not provide either moral or legal justification for a policy that claimed so many civilian lives.
The details in the report – including 13 incidents in which a total of 179 people died – rehearse a litany of horror. In one of the worst incidents, the bombing of the al-Dali building in Khan Younis on 29 July 2014, 34 people were killed including 18 minors.
Under international humanitarian law covering conflict, there is a two-fold test for targeting civilian sites. The first is whether the building is being used for a specific military purpose, for instance storing weapons, or as a position from which attacks are being launched. The second consideration is whether the attack confers “a clear military advantage” that outweighs any civilian deaths.
In a number of cases listed by the report, Israeli military spokesmen justified attacks on houses because of the affiliation of a resident with a militant group and his past history, rather than in terms of activity going on within the house during the conflict.
Although senior IDF commanders and the Israeli military attorney general, Danny Efroni, have argued that homes were used as “operational headquarters” by Hamas, the group says that despite requests no evidence has been provided in the vast majority of cases to justify the strikes.
Separately, the UN Relief and Works Agency announced it had been forced to suspend its cash assistance programme in Gaza for repairs to damaged and destroyed homes and for rental subsidies to the homeless because of a $585m (£385m) shortfall in aid pledged by donors but not delivered.
“We are talking about thousands of families who continue to suffer through this cold winter with inadequate shelter. People are literally sleeping amongst the rubble, children have died of hypothermia,” said the agency’s director in Gaza, Robert Turner. “$5.4bn was pledged at the Cairo conference last October and virtually none of it has reached Gaza. This is distressing and unacceptable.”
22 jan 2015
A UN inquiry committee has summoned Palestinian victims to the Jordanian capital Amman to listen to their testimonies about their exposure to violations in the West Bank during Israel's last war on the Gaza Strip.
The victims were taken to Amman in cooperation with human rights and media organizations after the Israeli occupation authority did not allow the committee to enter the occupied Palestinian territories.
The committee held sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday to listen to the victims and document what had happened to them during that period.
The committee is a team of human rights experts led by Canadian lawyer William Schabas.
The victims were taken to Amman in cooperation with human rights and media organizations after the Israeli occupation authority did not allow the committee to enter the occupied Palestinian territories.
The committee held sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday to listen to the victims and document what had happened to them during that period.
The committee is a team of human rights experts led by Canadian lawyer William Schabas.
21 jan 2015
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Israeli conduct during last summer's war in the Gaza Strip increased the number of civilian casualties, an independent report has said, by failing to differentiate between military targets and civilian populations.
Despite claims to the contrary, the military did not give sufficient warning for civilians to evacuate residential areas before striking them, according to the report partly commissioned by Physicians for Human Rights and carried out by eight independent medical experts. The report also cited potential violations of humanitarian law and indiscriminate strikes that led to the deaths of medical workers, and called for a full inquiry into the 50-day conflict. |
The war between Israel and Hamas killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and has caused growing instability in Gaza, where 100,000 people whose homes were destroyed or damaged remain displaced.
Another 73 died on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers,
"Attacks were characterized by heavy and unpredictable bombardments of civilian neighborhoods in a manner that failed to discriminate between legitimate targets and protected populations," said the report, which was published Tuesday.
"In numerous cases, double or multiple consecutive strikes on a single location led to multiple civilian casualties and to injuries and deaths among rescuers."
The 237-page report was based on visits during and after the war, using interviews with 68 people wounded during the fighting, autopsies on 370 people killed and the review of dozens of medical files.
The army accused the report as "based on one-sided and incorrect data assumed from biased sources," saying its "credibility should be questioned."
"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces), in accordance to international law, went to extensive and unprecedented lengths in order to minimize civilian collateral damage," a statement said.
"Many of the practices of the IDF have far exceeded its obligations under international law."
The report said Israel's "early warning" procedures -- including phone calls, text messages and dropping preliminary non-explosive missiles on buildings before striking them -- were inconsistent and often did not provide enough time for evacuation.
Only seven percent of interviewees reported receiving early warnings.
Palestinian NGO Al-Mezan has said the ineffective use of preliminary warning strikes could constitute a war crime.
The Palestinians are attempting to sue Israeli officials over alleged war through the International Criminal Court, having formally joined the body earlier this month.
The report added that in Khuzaa, in southern Gaza, the "reported conduct of specific troops in the area is indicative of additional serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
It recommended a "legal determination of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, whether through local or international justice mechanisms."
Also see here.
Another 73 died on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers,
"Attacks were characterized by heavy and unpredictable bombardments of civilian neighborhoods in a manner that failed to discriminate between legitimate targets and protected populations," said the report, which was published Tuesday.
"In numerous cases, double or multiple consecutive strikes on a single location led to multiple civilian casualties and to injuries and deaths among rescuers."
The 237-page report was based on visits during and after the war, using interviews with 68 people wounded during the fighting, autopsies on 370 people killed and the review of dozens of medical files.
The army accused the report as "based on one-sided and incorrect data assumed from biased sources," saying its "credibility should be questioned."
"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces), in accordance to international law, went to extensive and unprecedented lengths in order to minimize civilian collateral damage," a statement said.
"Many of the practices of the IDF have far exceeded its obligations under international law."
The report said Israel's "early warning" procedures -- including phone calls, text messages and dropping preliminary non-explosive missiles on buildings before striking them -- were inconsistent and often did not provide enough time for evacuation.
Only seven percent of interviewees reported receiving early warnings.
Palestinian NGO Al-Mezan has said the ineffective use of preliminary warning strikes could constitute a war crime.
The Palestinians are attempting to sue Israeli officials over alleged war through the International Criminal Court, having formally joined the body earlier this month.
The report added that in Khuzaa, in southern Gaza, the "reported conduct of specific troops in the area is indicative of additional serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
It recommended a "legal determination of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, whether through local or international justice mechanisms."
Also see here.
20 jan 2015
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Ghalya Abu-Rida 74
During the Israeli bombardment and shelling of the Gaza Strip last summer, an Israeli soldier approached a 74-year-old Palestinian woman Ghalya Abu-Rida to give her a sip of water. He gave her the water, took a photo with her and then he shot her in the head from a distance of one metre. He then watched as she bled to death, the Palestine Information Centre reported. This is how Ahmad Qdeh, a journalist in Al-Aqsa TV, described the scene that he witnessed during the latest Israeli aggression. The spokesman of the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, shared the photo of an Israeli soldier holding the water bottle and helping the old woman drink as an example of the “humanity” of the Israeli army towards the civilians in the Gaza Strip. |
The field executions were among the stories Qdeh reported during the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip. He said: “Ghalya Ahmad Abu-Rida lived in the Khuza’a area in the east of Khan Younis city. I live in that area too and I made a television report on her story after the Israeli soldiers executed her during the aggression.”
“During the aggression, an Israeli soldier approached the old woman and took a photo for another soldier while giving her water. They then executed her by shooting her in the head from a distance of one metre and let her bleed until she died,” he added.
Ghalya was born in 1941. She lived by herself in a room near her brothers’ house in the Abu-Rida neighbourhood of Khuza’a. She had no children. Her neighbourhood was one of the first places invaded by the Israeli army during the aggression.
Field Execution
Majed Abu-Rida, Ghalya’s nephew, confirmed to the media that his aunt was visually impaired and could hardly see. He said that the Israeli army had falsely claimed humanity while executing his aunt in cold blood.
Ghalya, with her weak body and white hair, refused to leave her house after the Israeli army ordered the residents of Khuza’a to evacuate. She thought her old age would protect her from being a target so she stayed in her home and refused to join the majority of the residents who left the area as the invasion began.
On 3 August, the Israeli forces announced a truce and allowed medical staff to reach the Khuza’a area. Ghalya was found dead after she bled to death as she was shot in the head near her house, Al-Aqsa TV confirmed to MEMO.
Her brother confirmed that the photo shared by the Israeli army supported the family’s belief that Ghalya was in the hands of the Israeli army. The family also believed that the area in which Ghalya appeared in the photo and in which she was found asserted that the Israeli forces killed her after taking the photo for the media.
Misinformation
Professor of media at the universities of Gaza, Ahmad Al-Farra, said: “The photo the Israeli army spokesman shared is misleading propaganda by the Israeli army to present a humane portrait of its soldiers. It can enhance the opportunity to pursue the Israeli army’s soldiers as war criminals before the International Criminal Court.”
“This photo proves the confusion of the Israeli army spokesman in defending his army. It proves that they killed civilians,” he added.
He continued: “The Israeli occupation lies and misinforms in an attempt to affect international public opinion. It exploits the Arab media and Palestinian diplomacy in exposing the Israeli occupation’s crimes.” He demanded launching a large campaign to expose the Israeli lies and falsifications.
Al-Farra stressed the need for a media enlightenment campaign to go side by side with the field battles to correct the false image that Israel presents about its army and the resistance.
Israel carried out a 51-day war that claimed the lives of around 2,200 Palestinians and wounded around 11,000 others.
“During the aggression, an Israeli soldier approached the old woman and took a photo for another soldier while giving her water. They then executed her by shooting her in the head from a distance of one metre and let her bleed until she died,” he added.
Ghalya was born in 1941. She lived by herself in a room near her brothers’ house in the Abu-Rida neighbourhood of Khuza’a. She had no children. Her neighbourhood was one of the first places invaded by the Israeli army during the aggression.
Field Execution
Majed Abu-Rida, Ghalya’s nephew, confirmed to the media that his aunt was visually impaired and could hardly see. He said that the Israeli army had falsely claimed humanity while executing his aunt in cold blood.
Ghalya, with her weak body and white hair, refused to leave her house after the Israeli army ordered the residents of Khuza’a to evacuate. She thought her old age would protect her from being a target so she stayed in her home and refused to join the majority of the residents who left the area as the invasion began.
On 3 August, the Israeli forces announced a truce and allowed medical staff to reach the Khuza’a area. Ghalya was found dead after she bled to death as she was shot in the head near her house, Al-Aqsa TV confirmed to MEMO.
Her brother confirmed that the photo shared by the Israeli army supported the family’s belief that Ghalya was in the hands of the Israeli army. The family also believed that the area in which Ghalya appeared in the photo and in which she was found asserted that the Israeli forces killed her after taking the photo for the media.
Misinformation
Professor of media at the universities of Gaza, Ahmad Al-Farra, said: “The photo the Israeli army spokesman shared is misleading propaganda by the Israeli army to present a humane portrait of its soldiers. It can enhance the opportunity to pursue the Israeli army’s soldiers as war criminals before the International Criminal Court.”
“This photo proves the confusion of the Israeli army spokesman in defending his army. It proves that they killed civilians,” he added.
He continued: “The Israeli occupation lies and misinforms in an attempt to affect international public opinion. It exploits the Arab media and Palestinian diplomacy in exposing the Israeli occupation’s crimes.” He demanded launching a large campaign to expose the Israeli lies and falsifications.
Al-Farra stressed the need for a media enlightenment campaign to go side by side with the field battles to correct the false image that Israel presents about its army and the resistance.
Israel carried out a 51-day war that claimed the lives of around 2,200 Palestinians and wounded around 11,000 others.
19 jan 2015
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to launch a media campaign against the ICC.
According to sources at the premier’s office, the campaign is aimed at foiling the court’s decision to launch a preliminary investigation into Israeli war crimes. Earlier, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to dismantle the ICC. The reactions come after an announcement by the international tribunal that it has opened a preliminary investigation into war crimes in Palestinian territories. According to the United Nations, Palestine will become a member of the ICC as of April the first. |
18 jan 2015
The Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called on the United States to interfere to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) from launching a probe into the situation in the Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu had called US Secretary of State John Kerry and asked him to interfere to prevent the court from launching the inquiry, Israeli TV Channel 2 said Saturday.
Earlier on Friday ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced that the court had opened a preliminary investigation into the "situation in Palestine" after the Palestinian government accused the Israeli occupation of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Bensouda said that her examination would be conducted "in full independence and impartiality," a decision that has been slammed as "shameful" by the Israeli government.
"Israel rejects the absurd decision of the ICC prosecutor," Netanyahu was quoted by his office as saying on Saturday.
He said he would not be surprised if the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group, al-Qaeda, or the Lebanese movement Hezbollah followed suit.
"To what depth of absurdity has the tribunal sunk?" PM asks, claiming that a decision to probe possible war crimes in Palestinian territories runs contrary to reasons for which the tribunal was created.
The US Department of State on Friday expressed opposition to the decision of the ICC prosecutor.
Israeli war minister, Moshe Ya'alon, meanwhile, criticized the ICC decision, describing it on his Facebook page as a "hypocritical" one that condones terrorism instead of fighting it.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, hailed such a move by the ICC dubbing it a step in the right direction.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri called on the court to carry out the necessary procedures and take legal action against the Israeli occupation war criminals.
Netanyahu had called US Secretary of State John Kerry and asked him to interfere to prevent the court from launching the inquiry, Israeli TV Channel 2 said Saturday.
Earlier on Friday ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced that the court had opened a preliminary investigation into the "situation in Palestine" after the Palestinian government accused the Israeli occupation of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Bensouda said that her examination would be conducted "in full independence and impartiality," a decision that has been slammed as "shameful" by the Israeli government.
"Israel rejects the absurd decision of the ICC prosecutor," Netanyahu was quoted by his office as saying on Saturday.
He said he would not be surprised if the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group, al-Qaeda, or the Lebanese movement Hezbollah followed suit.
"To what depth of absurdity has the tribunal sunk?" PM asks, claiming that a decision to probe possible war crimes in Palestinian territories runs contrary to reasons for which the tribunal was created.
The US Department of State on Friday expressed opposition to the decision of the ICC prosecutor.
Israeli war minister, Moshe Ya'alon, meanwhile, criticized the ICC decision, describing it on his Facebook page as a "hypocritical" one that condones terrorism instead of fighting it.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, hailed such a move by the ICC dubbing it a step in the right direction.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri called on the court to carry out the necessary procedures and take legal action against the Israeli occupation war criminals.
