ICC warns of crimes under Rome treaty in West Bank, Gaza violence

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is concerned about escalating violence in the West Bank and the possibility that war crimes are being committed there.

"I note with great concern the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in and around Gaza, and the possible commission of crimes under the Rome Statute",  ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Hostilities by Israel on Hamas-governed Gaza escalated on Wednesday, with at least 48 killed in Gaza and six in Israel so far in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years.

The ICC prosecutor in March announced an official investigation into possible war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

READ MORE: Death toll from relentless Israeli air strikes in Gaza soars to 48

Bensouda, who will be replaced by British prosecutor Karim Khan on June 16, said in December 2019 that war crimes had been or were being committed in the West Bank and Gaza. 

That probe will mainly focus on the 2014 Gaza War but also look at the deaths of Palestinian demonstrators from 2018 onwards.

After a five-year preliminary probe, she had said there was “reasonable basis” to believe crimes were committed by Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli authorities, and by armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas.

"My Office will continue to monitor developments on the ground and will factor any matter that falls within its jurisdiction", Bensouda said on Wednesday.

On May 6, more than 180 prominent Israelis, including 10 Israel Prize laureates, signed a letter advising the ICC to work with human rights groups, not the state, for its investigation over the state’s alleged war crimes. 

Established by the Rome Statute in 2002, the ICC is a court of last resort to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide when a country is unable or unwilling to do so.

Its investigation of possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States. 

The United Nations urged Israel on Friday to call off any forced evictions in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem, warning that its actions could amount to "war crimes".

"We call on Israel to immediately call off all forced evictions," UN rights office spokesperson Rupert Colville said.

Earlier that week, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Israel of pursuing policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians that amount to crimes against humanity.

The Human Rights Watch published a 213-page report which, it said, was not aimed at comparing Israel with apartheid-era South Africa but rather at assessing "whether specific acts and policies" constitute apartheid as defined under international law.

Israel's foreign ministry rejected the claims as "both preposterous and false" and accused HRW of harbouring an "anti-Israeli agenda," saying the group had sought "for years to promote boycotts against Israel".

READ MORE: Israeli intellectuals warn ICC not to trust Tel Aviv in war crimes probe