by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner
For months now, the
Palestinian Authority has threatened to file for membership at the
International Criminal Court at The Hague, which would enable it to
press war crimes charges against Israeli soldiers and senior officials.
This was one of PA President Mahmoud Abbas' primary objectives when he
submitted the PA's candidacy at the U.N. for nonmember observer state
status, because one year earlier, devoid of this status, the ICC denied
the PA's membership request.
Abbas uses this threat
like a Sword of Damocles over Israel's head. If the peace process fails
to move forward, and if the Israeli government builds in E1, he will use
this weapon.
The ICC is eager to
pursue cases that don't involve the slaughter and all-out warfare
against tribes in Africa. The debate over the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, especially when Israel is on the defendant's stand, tops the
wish list for the war crimes tribunal, which portends to be the ultimate
authority pertaining to human rights. Out of the hundreds of claims
submitted to the ICC, it will choose to tackle those it has desired the
most: the prosecution of Israeli soldiers.
Such prosecutions could
have fateful consequences. The ICC has the authority to issue arrest
warrants against those it convicts, and it is the duty of member
countries to make these arrests. IDF soldiers, therefore, will be
prevented from stepping foot in more than 100 member countries, such as
Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Portugal,
South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.
This would be a
decisive blow not only to Israeli backpackers recently discharged from
the army, but to all fighting units, which new recruits will seek to
avoid due to the risk involved. What's the point, they'll say, in not
only sacrificing three years to the IDF, but also the freedom to move
around in the world afterward.
Of his two options --
starting a third intifada or turning to the ICC -- Abbas will choose the
most preferable: the one that doesn’t come at the cost of blood, that
grants him credit with European leaders for choosing the nonviolent
path, and that affords him the greatest odds of winning. He'll turn to
The Hague.
The Hague's authority,
however is a two-way street. From the moment the PA becomes a member, it
opens itself to similar war crimes claims. Its leaders are liable to
find themselves responsible for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Sending terrorists to
commit suicide bombings; launching tens of thousands of missiles and
rockets against civilian communities; inciting and directing its own
population and security forces to kill innocent civilians, as these
efforts have become increasingly systematic to the point of
long-standing official policy against another civilian population --
these are all crimes against humanity and genocide. There is already
such a precedent, after a New York federal court in 2007 ruled that
intifada-related crimes were crimes against humanity, and that Israeli
victims of terror had the right to pursue legal action against those who
aid and abet terrorism.
The only way to protect
IDF soldiers from international prosecution is to deter the PA from
turning to The Hague, and this is by threatening to submit thousands of
countersuits against it on behalf of terror victims.
Subsequently, the
Israeli-based civil rights organization Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center)
has in recent days commenced with a pre-emptive attack. We are
collecting testimonies from any Israeli who was a victim of terrorism
and are asking that these testimonies be posted to our Facebook page as
evidence that can be used in countersuits against leaders of the
Palestinian Authority for their roles in the perpetration of war crimes.
If Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh want to go to The Hague -- we will be there to meet them.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4173
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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