Name: ICC opens investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories | DW News
Uploaded: 2021-03-04T18:40:06.000Z
Duration: 4 min 40 s
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We begin tonight with the Palestinians, the Israelis and accusations of war crimes.

Today, the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories since 2014.

The probe will target both the Israeli military and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

It comes after the I C C ruled last month that it had jurisdiction over territories occupied by Israel, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority has welcomed the investigation, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the court of hypocrisy and anti Semitism.

All right for more now we can go to Jerusalem.

Our correspondent Tanya Kramer is on the story for us.

Despite Israel's attempts to postpone the decision, the prosecutor has announced the opening of an investigation into more crimes.

Well, as you said, there has been a long process after a five year long, nearly five year long preliminary investigation and also after the decision back in February just last month by a panel of three judges who had ruled that indeed the I C C.

Has jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

Now the prosecutor, the chief prosecutor for two.

Bensouda had referred this matter to the panel of three judges back in December 2000 and 19, when she concluded that there are grounds to open a formal investigation against Israeli and Palestinian individuals for alleged war crimes.

But she had to refer to the panel of three judges to get their opinion on the jurisdiction.

Now we are expecting, um, this investigation to deal with everything that happened after 2000 and 14, the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas, then the issue of construction of settlements in the occupied territory, as well as possibly uh, the actions of the Israeli military against Palestinian protesters along the Gaza fence during 2000 and 18, so today for two.

Ben Sudan, in her statement, also said that she will decide on the priorities in the coming weeks.

Also given you know, the challenges by the pandemic and also the workload of the office of the prosecutor, you bring up a good point to the list of possibilities.

There is very long we know that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He has called this decision anti Semitic and absurd.

Of course, Israel also has no period of time to answer to this opening of the investigation.

But the reaction by the Israeli Prime Minister um, doesn't come as a surprise.

Already, last month, he had called the decision by the judges by the I C.

Um, this has been a long held view by Israel that the court is overstepping its mandate and that this is a highly politicized, politicized issue and that the court actually doesn't have jurisdiction.

Now we also have to mention this is kind of a consensus and Israeli politics.

We heard from several other political leaders tonight being highly critical of this decision by the I.

I have to mention that because we're also in the middle of an election campaign, there are elections in three weeks, and, uh, some of his political rivals will certainly use this against Mr Netanyahu because it happened on his watch.

But again, this is a decision that will go beyond party politics and beyond this election, This will keep Israeli politics busy for years to come.

So on the Palestinian side, of course, this decision was warmly welcomed.

You had a statement from the Foreign Ministry saying that this will lead to accountability and justice.

And you have to say the Palestinians have been working very diligently on this issue to internationalize, to go and join international organizations.

And so they hope that some somehow Israel was held accountable for what it does here in this conflict.

DWS 10 Ukrainian with the latest tonight in Jerusalem, Tanya, as always.