The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at The Hague said the court cannot open an investigation into cases related to the 2008-09 Gaza war because Palestine is not a state.
Jose Luis Moreno Ocampo said April 3 in a statement that it is up to the United Nations or the states that make up the court to determine whether the Palestinian Authority can be a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. According to the statute, only internationally recognized states can join the court.
The ICC’s decision came in response to a January 2009 request by the Palestinian Authority that the court direct its war crimes tribunal to investigate war crimes cases against Israeli officials stemming from the monthlong Gaza war that began in late December 2008.
NGO Monitor had filed a legal brief on the case arguing that the court does not have jurisdiction over the Palestinian Authority since it is not a state. — jta