February 06, 2015, 07:00 am
Activists protest one-sided hearing on Palestine and the ICC
By Josh Ruebner, contributor
Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute and its impending membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 1 raises profound legal and political questions. Will the threat of ICC jurisdiction prompt Israel to halt its illegal colonization of occupied Palestinian land? Will the potential indictment of Israeli military and political leaders deter future attacks against the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip? Could justice and accountability at the ICC serve to advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace?
Rather than address these considerations in a sober and nuanced fashion from a variety of perspectives, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a one-sided hearing on Wednesday, entitled “The Palestinian Authority’s International Criminal Court Gambit: A True Partner for Peace?“