Israel Is Trying To Bankrupt The Criminal Court Investigating Them For War Crimes
After the International Criminal Court (ICC) made it known that they are opening a preliminary criminal investigation for war crimes last Friday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the ICC”s decision. Netanyahu said in a press statement:
“It’s absurd for the ICC to ignore international law and agreements, under which the Palestinians don’t have a state and can only get one through direct negotiations with Israel.”“So we see here something truly tragic. The lofty goals of the ICC are being turned upside down. The court was founded to prevent a repeat of history’s worst crimes, foremost among them the genocide of six million Jews.”
Today media reports are showing that Israel is trying to lobby member states of the ICC to defund the criminal court. Reuters reports:
“Israel is lobbying member-states of the International Criminal Court to cut funding for the tribunal in response to its launch of an inquiry into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the country’s foreign minister said on Sunday.The ICC did not immediately respond to the news, but experts thought it unlikely that the lobbying effort was likely to persuade the countries that contribute most to the court to reduce their funding.Israel, which like the United States does not belong to the ICC, hopes to dent funding for the court that is drawn from the 122 member-states in accordance with the size of their economies, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said:“We will demand of our friends in Canada, in Australia and in Germany simply to stop funding it,” he told Israel Radio. Officials told Reuters the lobbying effort would also target Japan, whose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting Israel.”
Human rights group Amnesty International applauded the ICC for beginning their preliminary investigation. On the day that the ICC’s plans were announced, they said:
“Today’s announcement that the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a preliminary examination of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) could pave the way for thousands of victims of crimes under international law to gain access to justice.”
This move is blatant retaliation for the ICC’s preliminary investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes against Palestine. Perhaps, this is a sign that Netanyahu is starting to get worried that the ICC’s preliminary investigation will eventually lead to a guilty verdict.
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