Palestinians shouldn't be allowed ICC participation, Blinken says after Israel war crimes probe launched

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken deplored International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to open a formal investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by both Israel’s military and Palestinian militants.

The chief prosecutor of the ICC said on Wednesday that she had opened a formal probe into alleged crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move strongly opposed by Israel.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has previously said there is a "reasonable basis" to believe crimes were committed by members of the Israeli army, Israeli authorities, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups during the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Blinken said: “The ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter. Israel is not a party to the ICC and has not consented to the court’s jurisdiction, and we have serious concerns about the ICC’s attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel.”

He said that the Biden administration “firmly opposes and is deeply disappointed” by the decision.

“The Palestinians do not qualify as a sovereign state and therefore are not qualified to obtain membership as a state in, participate as a state in, or delegate jurisdiction to the ICC,” he added.

Despite his denunciation, Blinken said the US “remains deeply committed to ensuring justice and accountability for international atrocity crimes. We recognise the role that international tribunals such as the ICC can play — within their respective mandates — in the pursuit of those important objectives.”

“We will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”

Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War of 1967, and later annexed mostly Arab east Jerusalem.

Today they are home to at least five million Palestinians defined by the United Nations as living under Israeli occupation.

In the summer of 2014, Israel launched what it called Operation Protective Edge with the stated aim of stopping rocket fire into its territory by Hamas militants.

The 50-day war in the Palestinian enclave was the third between Israel and Hamas, after those of 2008 and 2012. 

Around 2,250 Palestinians were killed in the 2014 fighting, mostly civilians, and 74 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

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