Sunday 26 July 2009

Dugard calls on criminal court to probe Israel’s war crimes in Gaza


Dugard calls on criminal court to probe Israel’s war crimes in Gaza

[ 25/07/2009 - 09:21 PM ]

NEW YORK, (PIC)-- John Dugard, the head of the independent fact-finding committee formed by the Arab League, called on the international criminal court to investigate Israeli war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip so as not to be condemned for double standard.

Dugard said, in an article published Wednesday by New York Times newspaper, that several investigations including one by the Arab League independent committee which he chaired have found considerable evidence that serious crimes were committed in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The investigation conducted by this committee proved, according to Dugard’s article, that Israel used weapons designed to inflict the maximum suffering on Gaza people in addition to the fact that no serious attempt was made to distinguish between civilian and military targets.

The article noted that Israel is not a member of the international criminal court, so this court does not have jurisdiction on its territory, adding the UN security council could not refer the situation to this court as it did in the case of Darfur because such a move would certainly be vetoed by the US.

Dugard suggested that the only way to prosecute Israel is that the Palestinian authority (PA) submit a request immediately before the prosecutor of the criminal court Luis Ocampo for an investigation into whether international crimes were committed by Israel in Gaza.

It pointed out that over 100 states have recognized the state of Palestine and it is a member of the Arab League. Moreover, the PA has diplomatic relations with many states and observer status at the UN, so it is not necessary for Ocampo to decide that Palestine is a state for all purposes, but only for the purpose of the court, which is “the investigation of war crimes”.

The Rome statute, under which the criminal court was established, allows any state not party to the statute to declare that it accepts the jurisdiction of this court for international crimes committed within its territory, it was asserted in the article.

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