Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 6/ Trend , B. Hasanov, U. Sadigova/ Israel conducted Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip against the Hamas members from Dec. 27 to Jan. 20. The military conflict claimed 1,500 lives and injured about 5,000. The situation in the Gaza Strip is on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe.
One of the prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Hague Luis Moreno Okampo studied the fact of death of 1,500 and injury of about 5,000 people and announced that Israel must stand before the military tribunal. On Feb. 6, a group of Jordan MPs said that will appeal to the International Criminal Court as Israel killed dozens of civilians during assault targeted at Hamas, Al-Jazeera television channel reported.
Trend polled the experts and politicians on this issue:
Can Israel face accusations in the International Criminal Court for civilians injuries during attack on Gaza Strip by Israeli Air Forces targeted against Hamas?
Acer Yucel, expert on international law at International Strategic Studies Center
From legal point of view, it is impossible to bring accusations against Israel in the International Criminal Court. The country who committed crimes during armed conflict or the country where crimes were committed must officially recognize the international court which examines cases on crimes committed during armed conflicts so that the court will bring an accusation against citizen of the country.
Though a number of countries have officially recognized this court, Israel has not yet done it. Besides, there are disputes on world community regarding whether Palestine is a state. There it is impossible from legal point of view to bring an accusation against Israel.
However, the UN has set up a fact finding commission to investigate crimes committed during Israel's attack on Gaza Strip. The commission aims to collect facts before they are lost and use them in future if there is a legal ground for accusations against Israel. The only way to bring an accusation against persons in Israel who ordered military crimes during hostilities is to launch a special court at the UN Security Council. There is already similar experience. Former Yugoslavian officials who committed military crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina during war stood before the special court established by the UN Security Council. As the U.S. has a veto right in the UN Security Council, establishing such a court for Israel is not convincing.
Hillel Frisch, expert at Israel's Begin Sadat University Bar Ilan Strategic Studies Center
A complaint someone has to perdition the war and the court might be responded to begin the investigation, they did it in the past in 2002 when Israel conducted its campaign in Jenin, and there was a fight there and the Palestinians quickly accused Israel in the massacre, and in some sequent investigation disproved wrong. Sides not only try to win the war but also try to win in the law courts. Israel will have a number of good lawyers to show that the winner of war crimes involved. Hamas uses the civilian population as a human shield. No one has ever succeeded in the law courts to accuse Israel in any court.
Mazin Qumsieh, Human Right Watch activist and director of Center for People Rapprochement
Israel has grossly violated UN Security Council Resolutions. Israel has consistently committed war crimes. Hundreds of civilian massacres were committed. Israel also used banned weapons including white phosphorous and DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosives) on civilians. All of this constitutes clear violations of International law such as the 4th Geneva Convention.
William Chabas, expert at Irish Center for the Human Rights
The International Criminal Court must examine whether it can prosecute committing in Gaza during the weeks of war. The IC probably doesn't have the jurisdiction over the territory in Gaza, so the first problem is that it has to establish its jurisdiction over the Gaza territory and we have to see what kind of investigation it will be. If there were some kind of crime, we are on a long way from having the prosecutions; certainly the court will not prosecute the war itself as a criminal war.
Bassam Eid - head of Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
It is completely right, right now to solve Israel on war of crime on what is happening in Gaza, but the question is who is be able to do so. When Israel started to build the wall in the occupying territory, some organization saw Israel to international right court. Everybody remembers that advisor to the international law. They consider the wall as an international racism and a human towards Palestinians, but nothing is happening now. The wall still exists and Israel continues building such horrible wall which is not only dividing the Palestinians from Israel but also dividing Palestinians from Palestinians.
Rufiz Hafizoglu also contributed to the article.
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