NOW that United States President Donald Trump had unilaterally declared the city of Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, Palestine should push ahead with its case against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for all the crimes committed against the Palestinians.
For weeks, Trump had repeatedly warned Palestine not to bring legal action against Israel through ICC, and, even threatened to close the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office, located in Washington DC, if the former went ahead with its case against Israel.
Given the current development in the Middle East, Trump’s threat is no longer relevant to PLO’s cause.
In April 2015, PLO President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, and other international agreements after the United Nations Security Council rejected a Palestinian-drafted resolution demanding a full and phased withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces within three years.
Abbas hoped such bold action taken by his government would provide a legal avenue for his deeply frustrated Palestinian people, who had suffered injustice under Israeli occupation for more than 60 years.
ICC, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, deals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The Palestinians have asked it to exercise jurisdiction over any crimes committed in the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Israel, like its proxy US, is not a party to the Rome Statute. But in theory, its nationals can be tried by the ICC for alleged crimes committed on Palestinian territory.
A number of legal actions can be taken by the PLO against Israel, especially those involving crimes against humanity and genocide as provided under Article 5 of the Rome Statute.
Action can also be taken by the Palestinians against the expansion of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.
Article 8 of the Rome Statute clearly states that the unlawful deportation, transfer or confinement of protected persons living in territory under military occupation, constitutes a war crime.
If found guilty, ICC, as provided under Article 77 of the Rome Statute, may impose one of the following penalties on a person convicted of a crime, namely imprisonment for a specified number of years, which may not exceed a maximum of 30 years or a term of life imprisonment when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person.
In addition to imprisonment, ICC may also order a fine under the criteria provided for in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and a forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived directly or indirectly from that crime, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.
The PLO should push ahead with its case against Israel to right the wrongs against the Palestinians.
Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Syariah & Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)