6 oct 2016
A delegation from the world’s only permanent war crimes court is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories, this week, to “promote better understanding” about its work, their chief prosecutor said Wednesday.
The trip, from Wednesday until October 10, will be the first to the region by officials from the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the 2014 Gaza war.
The team will travel to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement for “meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials at the working levels.”
But, according to the PNN. she made no mention of whether the delegation would travel to the impoverished Gaza Strip, and stressed the visit was not aimed at investigating any allegations.
At the request of the Palestinians, Bensouda’s office has opened an initial probe into alleged war crimes by both sides during the July-August 2014 conflict.
She said that the visit was “not linked” to her preliminary investigation, which she said “is ongoing and is following its normal course.”
“The purpose of this visit will be to undertake outreach and education activities with a view to raising awareness about the ICC and in particular, about the work of the office,” Bensouda said.
The delegation from her office “will not engage in evidence collection in relation to any alleged crimes,” she added.
“Neither will the delegation undertake site visits, or assess the adequacy of the respective legal systems to deal with crimes that fall within ICC jurisdiction.”
The 2014 Israeli aggression on Gaza killed 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children, according to UN figures. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, mostly soldiers.
Israel and the Palestinians have accused each other of war crimes.
Israel is alleged to have used force indiscriminately, while Hamas is accused of firing rockets at Israeli civilian population centers and of using Palestinians as human shields.
The Palestinians formally asked the ICC, last year, to investigate the “Jewish state”, which is not a party to the treaty that governs the court, for alleged war crimes.
Israel vehemently opposes any ICC investigation. But, officials have said they will cooperate with the body to convince it of the competence of the state’s own court.
See archive IMEMC video: 09/02/14 Gaza City’s Devastated Al-Shuja’eyya Suburb
The trip, from Wednesday until October 10, will be the first to the region by officials from the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the 2014 Gaza war.
The team will travel to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ramallah, chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement for “meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials at the working levels.”
But, according to the PNN. she made no mention of whether the delegation would travel to the impoverished Gaza Strip, and stressed the visit was not aimed at investigating any allegations.
At the request of the Palestinians, Bensouda’s office has opened an initial probe into alleged war crimes by both sides during the July-August 2014 conflict.
She said that the visit was “not linked” to her preliminary investigation, which she said “is ongoing and is following its normal course.”
“The purpose of this visit will be to undertake outreach and education activities with a view to raising awareness about the ICC and in particular, about the work of the office,” Bensouda said.
The delegation from her office “will not engage in evidence collection in relation to any alleged crimes,” she added.
“Neither will the delegation undertake site visits, or assess the adequacy of the respective legal systems to deal with crimes that fall within ICC jurisdiction.”
The 2014 Israeli aggression on Gaza killed 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children, according to UN figures. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, mostly soldiers.
Israel and the Palestinians have accused each other of war crimes.
Israel is alleged to have used force indiscriminately, while Hamas is accused of firing rockets at Israeli civilian population centers and of using Palestinians as human shields.
The Palestinians formally asked the ICC, last year, to investigate the “Jewish state”, which is not a party to the treaty that governs the court, for alleged war crimes.
Israel vehemently opposes any ICC investigation. But, officials have said they will cooperate with the body to convince it of the competence of the state’s own court.
See archive IMEMC video: 09/02/14 Gaza City’s Devastated Al-Shuja’eyya Suburb
20 sept 2016
Watchdog says there is a conflict of interests when asking the Military Advocate General to investigate suspected crimes relating to orders he personally approved, adding probes were only launched to avoid the jurisdiction of the ICC; IDF: Report is 'extremely biased and unprofessional.'
A report released Tuesday by the B’Tselem human rights watchdog levelled harsh criticized at IDF prosecutors for allegedly whitewashing criminal actions by IDF troops during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
The report, entitled "Whitewashing Procedure: Investigating Alleged Incidents of Protective Edge [PDF]," criticizes Israeli policies implemented during the conflict, including attack policies on inhabited houses, “indiscriminate” artillery fire on populated areas and the policy of “deliberately” destroying homes and agricultural areas.
The report was particularly critical of Israel for refusing to allow external investigations into accusations that IDF forces committed war crimes.
B’Tselem claimed that there is an inherent conflict of interests when asking the Military Advocate General (MAG) to investigate the accusations.
"In cases in which suspected breaches of law relate to orders he personally approved, the MAG would have to order an investigation against himself, or his subordinates," the report said.
While noting that the IDF does acknowledge the importance of outside organizations that monitor its actions, Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek criticized the report, calling it "extremely biased and unprofessional."
“The report ignores a significant amount of information and data published by Israel, or misrepresents it," Brig. Gen. Afek said. "It also indicates a severe lack of understanding of the fighting reality in Gaza and the implementation of the laws of war in this reality.
“For instance, the report ignored the fact that airstrikes that caused the death of Palestinian civilians, tragic as they were, were a rarity. Most of the IDF airstrikes—over 6,000—did not hurt civilians. It would be more fitting for B’Tselem to attempt to infer IDF operational policy from the general context, rather than from the anomalies.”
Operation Protective Edge was launched on July 7, 2014, following weeks of incessant rocket fire from Gaza. Seventy-two were killed on the Israel side, including 67 soldiers. Some 2,200 Palestinians also died during the conflict, with B'Tselem claiming 63 percent of them did not take direct part in hostilities.
Israel, meanwhile, claims that of 45 percent of the deceased Palestinians who were positively identified, 36 percent were militants.
The B’Tselem report follows closely on the heels of the MAG’s August update on its ongoing investigation, titled "Exceptional Incidents that Allegedly Occurred During Operation ‘Protective Edge.’"
This latest update indicated that military prosecutors had closed over a dozen indictments due to lack of criminal evidence but opened criminal investigations into six other potential cases. Before that update, the MAG reported that out of 360 complaints received, 24 criminal investigations were launched and only one case resulted in three separate indictments for the crime of looting.
In its conclusion, the report claims the IDF launched investigations of alleged violations of international laws of war only to avoid the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. Even though Israel is not a party to the ICC, the Palestinians filed for “retroactive jurisdiction” which could entitle the court to jurisdiction on Operation Protective Edge if the Hague deems Israel “unwilling or unable” to prosecute its own alleged war crimes.
A report released Tuesday by the B’Tselem human rights watchdog levelled harsh criticized at IDF prosecutors for allegedly whitewashing criminal actions by IDF troops during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
The report, entitled "Whitewashing Procedure: Investigating Alleged Incidents of Protective Edge [PDF]," criticizes Israeli policies implemented during the conflict, including attack policies on inhabited houses, “indiscriminate” artillery fire on populated areas and the policy of “deliberately” destroying homes and agricultural areas.
The report was particularly critical of Israel for refusing to allow external investigations into accusations that IDF forces committed war crimes.
B’Tselem claimed that there is an inherent conflict of interests when asking the Military Advocate General (MAG) to investigate the accusations.
"In cases in which suspected breaches of law relate to orders he personally approved, the MAG would have to order an investigation against himself, or his subordinates," the report said.
While noting that the IDF does acknowledge the importance of outside organizations that monitor its actions, Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek criticized the report, calling it "extremely biased and unprofessional."
“The report ignores a significant amount of information and data published by Israel, or misrepresents it," Brig. Gen. Afek said. "It also indicates a severe lack of understanding of the fighting reality in Gaza and the implementation of the laws of war in this reality.
“For instance, the report ignored the fact that airstrikes that caused the death of Palestinian civilians, tragic as they were, were a rarity. Most of the IDF airstrikes—over 6,000—did not hurt civilians. It would be more fitting for B’Tselem to attempt to infer IDF operational policy from the general context, rather than from the anomalies.”
Operation Protective Edge was launched on July 7, 2014, following weeks of incessant rocket fire from Gaza. Seventy-two were killed on the Israel side, including 67 soldiers. Some 2,200 Palestinians also died during the conflict, with B'Tselem claiming 63 percent of them did not take direct part in hostilities.
Israel, meanwhile, claims that of 45 percent of the deceased Palestinians who were positively identified, 36 percent were militants.
The B’Tselem report follows closely on the heels of the MAG’s August update on its ongoing investigation, titled "Exceptional Incidents that Allegedly Occurred During Operation ‘Protective Edge.’"
This latest update indicated that military prosecutors had closed over a dozen indictments due to lack of criminal evidence but opened criminal investigations into six other potential cases. Before that update, the MAG reported that out of 360 complaints received, 24 criminal investigations were launched and only one case resulted in three separate indictments for the crime of looting.
In its conclusion, the report claims the IDF launched investigations of alleged violations of international laws of war only to avoid the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. Even though Israel is not a party to the ICC, the Palestinians filed for “retroactive jurisdiction” which could entitle the court to jurisdiction on Operation Protective Edge if the Hague deems Israel “unwilling or unable” to prosecute its own alleged war crimes.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, revealed in a new report issued Tuesday that the Israeli investigations into the events of Israeli 2014 aggression on Gaza are engaged in creating the false impression of a functioning system that ostensibly seeks to discover the truth.
In the meantime, those actually responsible for violations are not even questioned, and the investigations have been confined to superficial inspections of a number of isolated incidents, divorced from any context, the report said.
The scale of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip was enormous. Almost two-thirds of the total Palestinian casualties – 1,391 people, including 526 minors – were not involved in the fighting.
Hundreds of these victims were killed when their homes were bombed from the air. These figures raised grave concerns that Israel had breached the international humanitarian law, according to the report.
“However, much like investigations into previous rounds of fighting, neither government officials nor senior military commanders, who devised the policy, were responsible for the orders and made operational decisions during the fighting – were ever investigated by any official body nor held to account for their responsibility for the devastating effects of their decisions.”
The report pointed out that several Israeli politicians, jurists and senior officers in the military declared that there was no need to investigate the military.
Statements made by officials imply that one of the reasons they favor investigations – even if merely ostensibly – of suspected breaches of law during “Operation Protective Edge” is a desire to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague from addressing the issue itself.
In the meantime, those actually responsible for violations are not even questioned, and the investigations have been confined to superficial inspections of a number of isolated incidents, divorced from any context, the report said.
The scale of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip was enormous. Almost two-thirds of the total Palestinian casualties – 1,391 people, including 526 minors – were not involved in the fighting.
Hundreds of these victims were killed when their homes were bombed from the air. These figures raised grave concerns that Israel had breached the international humanitarian law, according to the report.
“However, much like investigations into previous rounds of fighting, neither government officials nor senior military commanders, who devised the policy, were responsible for the orders and made operational decisions during the fighting – were ever investigated by any official body nor held to account for their responsibility for the devastating effects of their decisions.”
The report pointed out that several Israeli politicians, jurists and senior officers in the military declared that there was no need to investigate the military.
Statements made by officials imply that one of the reasons they favor investigations – even if merely ostensibly – of suspected breaches of law during “Operation Protective Edge” is a desire to prevent the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague from addressing the issue itself.
17 sept 2016
The Dutch government this week expressed its public concern about the intimidation of human rights organizations assisting the work of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The positions outlined by Dutch ministers make clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to the Netherlands has not tamped down concern over the threats and harassment authorities believe are connected to investigations into suspected war crimes by Israel.
For months, Nada Kiswanson, a lawyer with the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, has reported receiving intimidating phone calls, emails and a bouquet of flowers with an ominous message, threatening the lives of her and her family.
Al-Haq and Kiswanson believe that the threats are related to their work on the ICC’s preliminary examination of possible war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.
Last month, Dutch authorities said they were investigating threats against several human rights organizations.
This came after intervention by the ICC itself. The court’s registrar Herman von Hebel told the newspaper NRC Handelsblad that the body has never seen such threats to employees of nongovernmental organizations working with the court.
And earlier this month, a veteran Israeli intelligence analyst tied the harassment of Kiswanson to “black ops” run by Israeli spy agencies intended to smear and intimidate people and organizations working for Palestinian human rights and Israeli accountability.
The Dutch government also suspects that the threats against Kiswanson relate to her activities with the ICC.
In a letter to parliament on 12 September, foreign minister Bert Koenders and justice minister Gerard Adriaan van der Steur recognize that Kiswanson is being “threatened and it is suspected that it is related to her work.”
Their letter responds to parliamentary questions from Tunahan Kuzu, a lawmaker who publicly refused to shake Netanyahu’s hand during the Israeli leader’s visit.
The ministers write that Kiswanson’s situation is being “taken seriously” by authorities, who opened a criminal investigation into the threats in February and who have been providing her with protection.
Harassment and intimidation of human rights organizations including Al-Haq and Amnesty International that support the ICC’s work is “never acceptable,” the Dutch ministers state. “Human rights defenders are indispensable for sustainable change towards more open and free societies.”
The government also expressed concern that the threats against human rights organizations could damage the “status and reputation” of the Netherlands, which hosts several international juridical bodies including the ICC.
The ministers would not comment on the outcome of the criminal investigation because it is ongoing.
Last month, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council condemned what it called a “continuing campaign of attacks and threats against human rights defenders and employees” of its member organizations “by the Israeli authorities and associated organizations.”
“These threats are part of a systematic and planned campaign that began in mid-2015, with the intent to disrupt the work of organizations, defame them and impact their funding,” the council said.
The council mentions in particular Al-Haq, Al Mezan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights as targets of the campaign.
It is no surprise that all four organizations have made submissions to the ICC.
The positions outlined by Dutch ministers make clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to the Netherlands has not tamped down concern over the threats and harassment authorities believe are connected to investigations into suspected war crimes by Israel.
For months, Nada Kiswanson, a lawyer with the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, has reported receiving intimidating phone calls, emails and a bouquet of flowers with an ominous message, threatening the lives of her and her family.
Al-Haq and Kiswanson believe that the threats are related to their work on the ICC’s preliminary examination of possible war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.
Last month, Dutch authorities said they were investigating threats against several human rights organizations.
This came after intervention by the ICC itself. The court’s registrar Herman von Hebel told the newspaper NRC Handelsblad that the body has never seen such threats to employees of nongovernmental organizations working with the court.
And earlier this month, a veteran Israeli intelligence analyst tied the harassment of Kiswanson to “black ops” run by Israeli spy agencies intended to smear and intimidate people and organizations working for Palestinian human rights and Israeli accountability.
The Dutch government also suspects that the threats against Kiswanson relate to her activities with the ICC.
In a letter to parliament on 12 September, foreign minister Bert Koenders and justice minister Gerard Adriaan van der Steur recognize that Kiswanson is being “threatened and it is suspected that it is related to her work.”
Their letter responds to parliamentary questions from Tunahan Kuzu, a lawmaker who publicly refused to shake Netanyahu’s hand during the Israeli leader’s visit.
The ministers write that Kiswanson’s situation is being “taken seriously” by authorities, who opened a criminal investigation into the threats in February and who have been providing her with protection.
Harassment and intimidation of human rights organizations including Al-Haq and Amnesty International that support the ICC’s work is “never acceptable,” the Dutch ministers state. “Human rights defenders are indispensable for sustainable change towards more open and free societies.”
The government also expressed concern that the threats against human rights organizations could damage the “status and reputation” of the Netherlands, which hosts several international juridical bodies including the ICC.
The ministers would not comment on the outcome of the criminal investigation because it is ongoing.
Last month, the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council condemned what it called a “continuing campaign of attacks and threats against human rights defenders and employees” of its member organizations “by the Israeli authorities and associated organizations.”
“These threats are part of a systematic and planned campaign that began in mid-2015, with the intent to disrupt the work of organizations, defame them and impact their funding,” the council said.
The council mentions in particular Al-Haq, Al Mezan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights as targets of the campaign.
It is no surprise that all four organizations have made submissions to the ICC.
