[rad-green] Only the International Criminal Court Can R estrain Israel -- Hagai El-Ad, director general of B’ Tselem

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*https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-only-the-international-criminal-c=
ourt-in-the-hague-can-restrain-israel-1.8679886
<https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-only-the-international-criminal-c=
ourt-in-the-hague-can-restrain-israel-1.8679886>Haaretz
         Mar 17, 2020Only the International Criminal Court in The Hague Can
Restrain IsraelBy Hagai El-Ad*

   -

[image: The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands,
February 6, 2020.]
*The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, February 6,
2020.Peter Dejong,AP*

In the summer of 2014 we killed over 500 Palestinian children in the Gaza
Strip, in surgical strikes and so-called statistical bombings. Then-Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then-Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff
Benny Gantz now head the country=E2=80=99s two largest parties.

In the fall of 2017 then-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of
Yisrael Beiteinu, declared his intention of totally destroying the West
Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-postpones-eviction-wes=
t-bank-bedouin-village-of-khan-al-ahmar-1.7377116>,
including the local school and the tin shacks that are home to over 30
families, all of them Palestinian, of course. The Supreme Court judges
reiterated their approval of the =E2=80=9Clegality=E2=80=9D of the demoliti=
on.

In the winter of 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump published his plan
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/trump-israel-palestine-plan-1.8466018>=
 for
American recognition of Greater Israel, which would include the entire area
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean =E2=80=93 without granting
citizenship, human rights or the right to vote to the millions of
Palestinians living there.

The plan dictates total Palestinian submission, while it publicly exposes
Israel=E2=80=99s aspiration to continue with its demographic engineering of=
 the
area according to its wishes =E2=80=93 from Wadi Ara in the north, via the
Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the separation barrier and up to the last of
the villages in Area C (which are under full Israeli control). And
Netanyahu, Lieberman and Gantz? They welcomed this plan.

How many children will be killed in Gaza
<https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/TAG-gaza-1.5599001> this summer? How
many additional Palestinian communities will be destroyed in the coming
years? What will life look like under a regime that aspires to perpetuate
its supremacy over another people? And what are we willing to do in order
to say to all that =E2=80=93 enough!

The children in Gaza did not =E2=80=9Cfind their deaths.=E2=80=9D Someone p=
lanned how
houses would be bombed from the air, and someone decided that it was
=E2=80=9Clegal,=E2=80=9D and someone gave the order, and after another fami=
ly was erased
from the world along with its children, someone whitewashed the whole
story, until the next bombing.

And the bulldozers that destroy buildings in the =E2=80=9Careas of sovereig=
nty=E2=80=9D
don=E2=80=99t drive themselves. Someone planned a whole system whose goal i=
s to
deny Palestinians approval for construction, and someone decided that this
is =E2=80=9Clegal,=E2=80=9D and someone issued the demolition orders and so=
meone ordered
their implementation.

The system of the regime whose objective is to advance one people at the
expense of trampling the other, did not create itself: There is someone
heading it, leading it, executing its directives.

And in order to make everything possible, those who are opposed must be
silenced. This is why the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations called
Palestinian efforts to oppose the Trump plan =E2=80=9Cdiplomatic terror,=E2=
=80=9D because
any Palestinian effort to demand rights or freedom must be framed as
terror. This is why Netanyahu hastened to slam the =E2=80=9Canti-Semitic de=
crees=E2=80=9D
of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and this is why Israeli
human rights organizations that actively oppose the occupation must be
portrayed as traitors, as disloyal.

Well, it=E2=80=99s true. We are disloyal: We are not loyal to a regime that=
 favors
occupation, repression, violence and humiliation of another people; we are
betrayers of the vision of apartheid, subverting a future of injustice.
It=E2=80=99s true, the question of loyalty now lies in the balance: To whic=
h values
are we loyal?

We are loyal to human rights, equality and freedom. We are faithful to the
attempt to build a future based on these values between the Jordan River
and the sea. This loyalty has led us to call on the UN Security Council to
demand international action to bring an end to the occupation. That same
loyalty has caused us to call on IDF soldiers to refuse illegal orders to
shoot from a distance at thousands of Palestinian demonstrators at the
separation barrier with the Gaza Strip.

And this is the same loyalty that is now turning its gaze in the direction
of the only international legal authority that can deal with the situation
in the territories =E2=80=93 the ICC in The Hague
<https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/TAG-icc-1.5599302> =E2=80=93 while unequ=
ivocally
supporting the authority of the court to open an investigation, to demand
accountability for war crimes.

After all, if nobody ever receives significant punishment, nothing will
change. That is exactly what Israel=E2=80=99s government wants. But if it is
decided that the ICC has jurisdiction, an  investigation will begin
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-icc-delays-israel-palestine-d=
ebate-because-prosecutor-exceeded-page-limit-1.8432655>
in
The Hague =E2=80=93 and the country may finally have to begin to consider t=
he
possibility that there will be a price to pay for its crimes against the
Palestinians.

Although the present proceedings underway in The Hague are limited to the
issue of whether the court has the authority to adjudicate, Israel=E2=80=99=
s entire
political leadership is united against it =E2=80=93 similar to the way in w=
hich it
is united in its support for the Trump plan. Netanyahu himself, as
mentioned, hastened to compare the court=E2=80=99s actions to anti-Semitic =
decrees,
went on to call for sanctions against the ICC, =E2=80=9Cits officials, its
prosecutors, everyone,=E2=80=9D and a few days ago sent a delegation to Was=
hington
to enlist the Trump administration in waging a joint battle against the
court.

These steps by the government, already at this stage, reveal that what lies
at the root of the Israeli opposition here is not a theoretical matter of
issues of jurisdiction, but a basic questioning of the values that the ICC
is meant to defend =E2=80=93 values that Israel wants to continue to trampl=
e while
continuing to enjoy total immunity regarding its deeds in the territories,
as it has become accustomed to doing.

In December, several hours before publication of the ICC prosecutor=E2=80=
=99s
announcement that she had reached the conclusion that there is a basis for
embarking on an investigation, Israel=E2=80=99s attorney general published =
his
position on the subject. Since he is the one whose position represents that
of the government, it is vital to expose the groundless nature of his
opinion, which is based on partial and tendentious citations taken out of
context, disregard for the dictates of international law and a baseless
perception of reality.

We are living in a world in which the number of effective options for
defending human rights is gradually shrinking. We have no illusions: The
ICC offers =E2=80=93 at best =E2=80=93 a limited degree of belated justice.=
 But the Israeli
system is so accustomed to a situation of total lawlessness, to a situation
in which almost anything can be done to the Palestinians without paying a
price, that even the little that the ICC can provide could cause Israel to
consider a new path.

Even before the ICC prosecutor=E2=80=99s decision in December, Israel had r=
efrained
from destroying Khan al-Ahmar =E2=80=93 due to fear of The Hague, according=
 to the
statement of Foreign Minister Israel Katz. We can assume that the new
reality, in which there is a possible horizon for being called to account,
could constitute an important restraint on further activity by Israel.

In The Hague they will decide in the coming months whether the court has
jurisdiction over the situation in the territories. Such authority has
existed since Palestine joined the Rome Statute (and a long series of other
conventions), as the prosecutor states. There is no minimizing the
importance of this decision, which on the face of it seems merely
procedural.

If the ICC judges indeed decide to adopt the opinion of the main
prosecutor, an investigation will begin. But if they decide otherwise, the
investigation will end before it starts. That would serve as a glaring
green light for Israel, in a world where few red lights remain. We can only
hope that the court will adopt the opinion of the prosecutor, and decide:
There is jurisdiction =E2=80=93 and there will be an investigation.

*The writer is the director general of B=E2=80=99Tselem, the Israeli Inform=
ation
Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.*

--=20

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.ha=
aretz.com/opinion/.premium-only-the-international-criminal-court-in-the-hag=
ue-can-restrain-israel-1.8679886" target=3D"_blank">https://www.haaretz.com=
/opinion/.premium-only-the-international-criminal-court-in-the-hague-can-re=
strain-israel-1.8679886</a><br><br><font size=3D"4">Haaretz =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0Mar 17, 2020</font><br><br><font size=3D"6">Only the In=
ternational Criminal Court in The Hague Can Restrain Israel<br></font><br><=
font size=3D"4">By Hagai El-Ad</font></font></b><div class=3D"gmail_default=
"><div id=3D"m_2038896978137131767gmail-social-bar" style=3D"font-size:18px=
;box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:0.777778rem"><div style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box;display:table-cell;width:10000px;max-width:100%"><ul style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;list-style:none;padding:0px"><font color=3D"=
#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"><li title=3D"StumbleUpon" style=3D"box-siz=
ing:border-box;display:inline-block"></li></font></ul></div></div><div styl=
e=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font color=3D"#000000" style=3D"font-size:18px=
" face=3D"georgia, serif"><img src=3D"https://images.haarets.co.il/image/fe=
tch/w_1875,h_1091,x_0,y_321,c_crop,g_north_west/w_609,h_343,q_auto,c_fill,f=
_auto/fl_any_format.preserve_transparency.progressive:none/https://www.haar=
etz.co.il/polopoly_fs/1.8679943!/image/2604803030.jpg" width=3D"472" alt=3D=
"The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, February 6, 20=
20." title=3D"The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, F=
ebruary 6, 2020." height=3D"266" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;border:0px;=
font-style:italic;font-size:0.75rem;line-height:1.5em;vertical-align:middle=
;margin-right:0px"></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><b><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif">The International Criminal Court in the Hague, N=
etherlands, February 6, 2020.Peter Dejong,AP</font></b></div><div style=3D"=
box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,=
serif;font-size:large"><br></span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box=
"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large=
">In the summer of 2014 we killed over 500 Palestinian children in the Gaza=
 Strip, in surgical strikes and so-called statistical bombings. Then-Prime =
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then-Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff =
Benny Gantz now head the country=E2=80=99s two largest parties.</span></div=
><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-=
family:georgia,serif;font-size:large"><br></span></div><div style=3D"box-si=
zing:border-box"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;=
font-size:large">In the fall of 2017 then-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberma=
n, head of Yisrael Beiteinu, declared his intention of totally destroying t=
he=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-isra=
el-postpones-eviction-west-bank-bedouin-village-of-khan-al-ahmar-1.7377116"=
 style=3D"font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large;background:transparent;=
box-sizing:border-box;text-decoration-line:none" target=3D"_blank">West Ban=
k village of Khan al-Ahmar</a><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:g=
eorgia,serif;font-size:large">, including the local school and the tin shac=
ks that are home to over 30 families, all of them Palestinian, of course. T=
he Supreme Court judges reiterated their approval of the =E2=80=9Clegality=
=E2=80=9D of the demolition.</span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:larg=
e"><br></span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"col=
or:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large">In the winter of 2=
020, U.S. President Donald Trump=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz=
.com/israel-news/trump-israel-palestine-plan-1.8466018" style=3D"font-famil=
y:georgia,serif;font-size:large;background:transparent;box-sizing:border-bo=
x;text-decoration-line:none" target=3D"_blank">published his plan</a><span =
style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large">=C2=A0=
for American recognition of Greater Israel, which would include the entire =
area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean =E2=80=93 without grant=
ing citizenship, human rights or the right to vote to the millions of Pales=
tinians living there.</span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><spa=
n style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large"><br>=
</span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><span style=3D"color:rgb(=
0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:large">The plan dictates total P=
alestinian submission, while it publicly exposes Israel=E2=80=99s aspiratio=
n to continue with its demographic engineering of the area according to its=
 wishes =E2=80=93 from Wadi Ara in the north, via the Jerusalem neighborhoo=
ds beyond the separation barrier and up to the last of the villages in Area=
 C (which are under full Israeli control). And Netanyahu, Lieberman and Gan=
tz? They welcomed this plan.</span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-bo=
x"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:larg=
e"><br></span></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" f=
ace=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">How many children w=
ill be killed in=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/T=
AG-gaza-1.5599001" style=3D"background:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;te=
xt-decoration-line:none" target=3D"_blank">Gaza</a><span style=3D"color:rgb=
(0,0,0)">=C2=A0this summer? How many additional Palestinian communities wil=
l be destroyed in the coming years? What will life look like under a regime=
 that aspires to perpetuate its supremacy over </span>another<span style=3D=
"color:rgb(0,0,0)"> people? And what are we willing to do in order to say t=
o all that =E2=80=93 enough!</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:bo=
rder-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb=
(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font=
 size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">The ch=
ildren in Gaza did not =E2=80=9Cfind their deaths.=E2=80=9D Someone planned=
 how houses would be bombed from the air, and someone decided that it was =
=E2=80=9Clegal,=E2=80=9D and someone gave the order, and after another fami=
ly was erased from the world along with its children, someone whitewashed t=
he whole story, until the next bombing.</span></font></div><div style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0=
,0,0)">And the bulldozers that destroy buildings in the =E2=80=9Careas of s=
overeignty=E2=80=9D don=E2=80=99t drive themselves. Someone planned a whole=
 system whose goal is to deny Palestinians approval for construction, and s=
omeone decided that this is =E2=80=9Clegal,=E2=80=9D and someone issued the=
 demolition orders and someone ordered their implementation.</span></font><=
/div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia,=
 serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span s=
tyle=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">The system of the regime whose objective is to ad=
vance one people at the expense of trampling the other, did not create itse=
lf: There is someone heading it, leading it, executing its directives.</spa=
n></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=
=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></di=
v><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, se=
rif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">And in order to make everything possi=
ble, those who are opposed must be silenced. This is why the Israeli ambass=
ador to the United Nations called Palestinian efforts to oppose the Trump p=
lan =E2=80=9Cdiplomatic terror,=E2=80=9D because any Palestinian effort to =
demand rights or freedom must be framed as terror. This is why Netanyahu ha=
stened to slam the =E2=80=9Canti-Semitic decrees=E2=80=9D of the Internatio=
nal Criminal Court in The Hague, and this is why Israeli human rights organ=
izations that actively oppose the occupation must be portrayed as traitors,=
 as disloyal.</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font=
 size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></=
span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">Well, it=E2=80=99s tr=
ue. We are disloyal: We are not loyal to a regime that favors occupation, r=
epression, violence and humiliation of another people; we are betrayers of =
the vision of apartheid, subverting a future of injustice. It=E2=80=99s tru=
e, the question of loyalty now lies in the balance: To which values are we =
loyal?</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=
=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span>=
</font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"=
georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">We are loyal to human righ=
ts, equality and freedom. We are faithful to the attempt to build a future =
based on these values between the Jordan River and the sea. This loyalty ha=
s led us to call on the UN Security Council to demand international action =
to bring an end to the occupation. That same loyalty has caused us to call =
on IDF soldiers to refuse illegal orders to shoot from a distance at thousa=
nds of Palestinian demonstrators at the separation barrier with the Gaza St=
rip.</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"=
4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></fo=
nt></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"geor=
gia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">And this is the same loyalty t=
hat is now turning its gaze in the direction of the only international lega=
l authority that can deal with the situation in the territories =E2=80=93=
=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/TAG-icc-1.5599302=
" style=3D"background:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;text-decoration-lin=
e:none" target=3D"_blank">the ICC in The Hague</a><span style=3D"color:rgb(=
0,0,0)">=C2=A0=E2=80=93 while unequivocally supporting the authority of the=
 court to open an investigation, to demand accountability for war crimes.</=
span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" fac=
e=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></d=
iv><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, s=
erif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">After all, if nobody ever receives s=
ignificant punishment, nothing will change. That is exactly what Israel=E2=
=80=99s government wants. But if it is decided that the ICC has jurisdictio=
n, an=C2=A0 </span><a href=3D"https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-=
icc-delays-israel-palestine-debate-because-prosecutor-exceeded-page-limit-1=
.8432655" style=3D"background:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;text-decora=
tion-line:none" target=3D"_blank">investigation will begin</a><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">=C2=A0in The Hague =E2=80=93 and the country may fina=
lly have to begin to consider the possibility that there will be a price to=
 pay for its crimes against the Palestinians.</span></font></div><div style=
=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span s=
tyle=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:=
border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:r=
gb(0,0,0)">Although the present proceedings underway in The Hague are limit=
ed to the issue of whether the court has the authority to adjudicate, Israe=
l=E2=80=99s entire political leadership is united against it =E2=80=93 simi=
lar to the way in which it is united in its support for the Trump plan. Net=
anyahu himself, as mentioned, hastened to compare the court=E2=80=99s actio=
ns to anti-Semitic decrees, went on to call for sanctions against the ICC, =
=E2=80=9Cits officials, its prosecutors, everyone,=E2=80=9D and a few days =
ago sent a delegation to Washington to enlist the Trump administration in w=
aging a joint battle against the court.</span></font></div><div style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0=
,0,0)">These steps by the government, already at this stage, reveal that wh=
at lies at the root of the Israeli opposition here is not a theoretical mat=
ter of issues of jurisdiction, but a basic questioning of the values that t=
he ICC is meant to defend =E2=80=93 values that Israel wants to continue to=
 trample while continuing to enjoy total immunity regarding its deeds in th=
e territories, as it has become accustomed to doing.</span></font></div><di=
v style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif">=
<span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"=
color:rgb(0,0,0)">In December, several hours before publication of the ICC =
prosecutor=E2=80=99s announcement that she had reached the conclusion that =
there is a basis for embarking on an investigation, Israel=E2=80=99s attorn=
ey general published his position on the subject. Since he is the one whose=
 position represents that of the government, it is vital to expose the grou=
ndless nature of his opinion, which is based on partial and tendentious cit=
ations taken out of context, disregard for the dictates of international la=
w and a baseless perception of reality.</span></font></div><div style=3D"bo=
x-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=
=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:bord=
er-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0=
,0,0)">We are living in a world in which the number of effective options fo=
r defending human rights is gradually shrinking. We have no illusions: The =
ICC offers =E2=80=93 at best =E2=80=93 a limited degree of belated justice.=
 But the Israeli system is so accustomed to a situation of total lawlessnes=
s, to a situation in which almost anything can be done to the Palestinians =
without paying a price, that even the little that the ICC can provide could=
 cause Israel to consider a new path.</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-=
sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"=
color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-b=
ox"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0=
)">Even before the ICC prosecutor=E2=80=99s decision in December, Israel ha=
d refrained from destroying Khan al-Ahmar =E2=80=93 due to fear of The Hagu=
e, according to the statement of Foreign Minister Israel Katz. We can assum=
e that the new reality, in which there is a possible horizon for being call=
ed to account, could constitute an important restraint on further activity =
by Israel.</span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font si=
ze=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></spa=
n></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=
=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">In The Hague they will=
 decide in the coming months whether the court has jurisdiction over the si=
tuation in the territories. Such authority has existed since Palestine join=
ed the Rome Statute (and a long series of other conventions), as the prosec=
utor states. There is no minimizing the importance of this decision, which =
on the face of it seems merely procedural.</span></font></div><div style=3D=
"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span styl=
e=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></span></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:bor=
der-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia, serif"><span style=3D"color:rgb(=
0,0,0)">If the ICC judges indeed decide to adopt the opinion of the main pr=
osecutor, an investigation will begin. But if they decide otherwise, the in=
vestigation will end before it starts. That would serve as a glaring green =
light for Israel, in a world where few red lights remain. We can only hope =
that the court will adopt the opinion of the prosecutor, and decide: There =
is jurisdiction =E2=80=93 and there will be an investigation.</span></font>=
</div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4" face=3D"georgia=
, serif"><em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font color=3D"#000000"><br></=
font></em></font></div><div style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font size=3D"4=
" face=3D"georgia, serif"><em style=3D"box-sizing:border-box"><font color=
=3D"#000000">The writer is the director general of B=E2=80=99Tselem, the Is=
raeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.</fon=
t></em></font></div></div></div>

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