International Relations
ICC Investigations into Israel-Palestine War Crimes
- 04 Mar 2021
- 2 min read
Why in News
International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched investigatations into the war crimes in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel (West Bank and the Gaza Strip).
Key Points
- The decision for investigation is taken after a recent ruling that the court’s jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-day Arab- Israeli war.
- In this war, Israeli forces seized the Golan Heights from Syria, the West Bank & East Jerusalem from Jordan and Sinai Peninsula & Gaza strip from Egypt.
- The investigation is also expected to cover the 2014 Gaza war, the 2018 Gaza border clashes and Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank.
- The inquiry will also look at whether rocket fire by Hamas and other groups from Gaza amounts to war crimes.
- About ICC:
- Governed by an international treaty called 'The Rome Statute', the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court.
- Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.
- It investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
- Through international criminal justice, ICC aims to hold those responsible for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again.
- India is not a party to Rome Statute along with the USA and China.
Golan Heights
- The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau with an area of 1,800km² on the border between Israel and Syria in south-western Syria.
- It is a strategic location that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war. Israel effectively annexed the territory in 1981.
- Recently, the USA has officially recognized Jerusalem and Golan Heights as a part of Israel.
