The Rights Forum en 24 andere organisaties dringen er in een open brief bij het Strafhof op aan een onderzoek naar mogelijke oorlogsmisdaden niet langer uit te stellen. Israël gaat in bezet gebied al 51 jaar straffeloos zijn gang en de situatie van de Palestijnen verslechtert met de dag.
De open brief, gericht aan hoofdaanklaagster Fatou Bensouda van het Internationaal Strafhof (ICC), is ondertekend door 25 (coalities van) organisaties uit verschillende landen. Zij signaleren dat het Strafhof inmiddels bijna vier jaar bezig is met een verkennend onderzoek naar ‘de situatie in Palestina’, en beklemtonen dat een officieel onderzoek geen verder uitstel verdraagt. In het vooronderzoek beoordeelt het hof of wordt voldaan aan de criteria voor het instellen van zo’n officieel onderzoek.
In hun brief, die hieronder te lezen is, onderstrepen de organisaties de straffeloosheid waarmee Israël op de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever en in Oost-Jeruzalem en Gaza zijn gang blijft gaan. Meer dan 550 Palestijnen zijn gedood sinds het verkennend onderzoek begon, vele duizenden zijn gewond geraakt. Daarnaast heeft Israël het tempo van de illegale kolonisering van de Westoever en Oost-Jeruzalem opgeschroefd, en staan 45 bedoeïenendorpen – Khan al-Ahmar voorop – op de nominatie door Israël te worden ontruimd en gesloopt. In de Gazastrook nadert het moment waarop de strook volgens een VN-rapport onleefbaar is.
Er bestaat ter plaatse geen autoriteit die in staat of van zins is plegers van mogelijke oorlogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid ter verantwoording te roepen, benadrukken de organisaties. Straffeloosheid is de norm waar het Israëls politiek betreft. Juist aan die straffeloosheid zou met de oprichting van het Strafhof een eind worden gemaakt, stellen de organisaties onder verwijzing naar het oprichtingsstatuut, het Statuut van Rome. Het is de allerhoogste tijd dat ook de Palestijnen de bescherming krijgen waarop zij recht hebben.
Joint Open Letter
Dear Madam Prosecutor,
Today, on 17 September 2018, 25 civil society organisations including coalitions urge you to urgently open an investigation into the Situation in Palestine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the only viable independent judicial body capable of ending impunity for crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory and effectively deterring the commission of future crimes.
Almost four years have passed since the opening of the preliminary examination into the Situation in Palestine at the ICC, following the submission of an article 12(3) declaration that allows you to hold to account individuals for the commission of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including during the 2014 military offensive on the Gaza Strip when 1,600 Palestinian civilians were killed.
Since the opening of the examination, more than 550 Palestinians have been killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians have been injured by Israeli forces. Israel has indefensibly and willfully killed unarmed Palestinian protesters in increasing numbers in the context of the 2018 Great Return March demonstrations in the occupied Gaza Strip, during which Palestinians demand that their right to return to their homes be fulfilled and that the closure on the Gaza Strip be lifted. Palestinians protesting Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and related policies of settler transfer into the city were also killed at an alarming rate by Israeli forces in 2014-2015. Israel has also accelerated its transfer of Israeli civilians into the occupied Palestinian territory, and appropriated significant and extensive swaths of Palestinian land to pave way for the merging of settlements with Israel while dividing Palestinian families and communities. The appropriation and destruction of Palestinian property has resulted in the displacement of thousands of Palestinians since 2015. Orders given to completely destroy the Khan Al-Ahmar community will be implemented at any moment, resulting in the forcible transfer of its 180 residents.
The situation in the occupied Gaza Strip is dire due to Israel’s imposition of the unlawful closure that denies Palestinians’ freedom of movement and access to basic life-sustaining services. We are quickly approaching year 2020 which represents, according to the United Nations, the predicted moment in time when the Gaza Strip will become uninhabitable.
The situation in Palestine is rapidly deteriorating and war crimes and crimes against humanity are allegedly frequently committed to entrench Israeli control over Palestinian territory and the Palestinian people. This year marked 51 years since the beginning of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory and so far it has been characterized by complete impunity. There is no domestic mechanism capable of or willing to investigate, prosecute and convict perpetrators, including high-level officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Neither is there a willingness to put in place such a mechanism. To the contrary, in August 2018, an Israeli court, for the first time, legitimized an Israeli settlement constructed on appropriated Palestinian land. That same month, the Israeli military investigation mechanism closed files on ‘Black Friday’ killings; over a period of 4 days, Israeli armed forces killed more than 200 Palestinian civilians in Rafah.
The occupation of the Palestinian territory may be one of the most well-documented situations, with a long list of eminent United Nations experts, inquiries and missions having issued lengthy reports alleging that international crimes have been committed and that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law have occurred.
In order to effectively respond to the most serious situations worldwide and offer a real opportunity for victims to receive redress, the ICC must speed up its processes and immediately open an investigation into the situation in Palestine. The grave situation in Palestine demands that the Prosecutor moves into the stage of investigation. It is now, more than ever before, crucial that the ICC remains loyal to the Rome Statute which speaks of the end of impunity, as well as stands up for all victims of the most horrendous crimes.
Yours Sincerely,
Al-Haq
Aldameer Association for Human Rights
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Addameer
Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB
Article 1 Collective
BADIL
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Center for Constitutional Rights
CNCD-11.11.11
Defense for Children International – Palestine
EuroMed Rights
FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
Hurryat – Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights
Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Ligue des droits de L’Homme
Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies
The Independent Commission for Human Rights
The Rights Forum
Trocaire
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Palestine Solidariteit
Vrede
11.11.11.
