Prejudice: ICC Rejects Accusing ’’Israel’’ of Gaza War Crimes
In December 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant of former "Israeli" Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for her role in the killings, but the ruling was later overturned.
Amnesty International accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of "political bias" after it refused to investigate crimes carried out by "Israel" during its 2008-2009 aggression against Gaza Strip.
This came as the court's chief prosecutor rejected Tuesday a bid by the Palestinian Authority to clear the way for the permanent war crimes tribunal to investigate the attacks, which left at least 1,300 Palestinians dead.
The UK-based rights group criticized the ruling, saying "the ICC had risked its independence."
The head of Amnesty International's International Justice Campaign, Marek Marczyński stressed that "this dangerous decision opens the ICC to accusations of political bias and is inconsistent with the independence of the ICC."
"It also breaches the Rome Statute which clearly states that such matters should be considered by the institution's judges," he clarified.
The ICC based its decision on claiming that "Palestine is not being determined as a state by UN bodies and ICC states," but Amnesty insists the court has ruled in error.
"For the past three years, the prosecutor has been considering the question of whether the Palestinian Authority is a "state"," Amnesty chief said adding that "now, despite AI's calls and a very clear requirement in the ICC's statute that the judges should decide on such matters, the Prosecutor has erroneously dodged the question, passing it to other political bodies."
Palestinians have attempted to seek justice through the international criminal system, with attempted prosecutions of "Israeli" war criminals.
Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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