BICOM

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday rejected a bid by the Palestinian Authority to clear the way for a permanent war crimes tribunal to investigate Operation Cast Lead in 2008.

Prosecutors were presented with Israeli and Palestinian positions on the matter before reaching Tuesday’s decision, but ruled that Palestinians could not sign up for the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, as only internationally recognised states can join the court.

Palestinians have been seeking international recognition as an independent state at the United Nations, with limited success. The long-awaited written ruling by Luis Moreno-Ocampo is, therefore, also a setback to their aims.

In January 2009, the Palestinian Authority unilaterally recognised the court’s jurisdiction, and ICC prosecutors have been mulling over whether to accept that recognition — the first step in a process that could have finished with Israel being investigated for possible war crimes during the 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

“The bottom line is that the ICC has no jurisdiction. We knew that and we said as much since the beginning,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

“If the (Palestinian Authority) has any grievance, the proper way to deal with it, is to talk to Israel and try to sort this out directly. Resorting to the ICC or to the UN or to any far away institution … that’s just a waste of time,” he said.

In a statement, the prosecutor said it is up to “relevant bodies at the United Nations” or the group of nations that makes up the court to determine whether Palestinians can sign up to the Rome Statute. The court can only launch investigations if asked by the UN Security Council or an involved state that has recognised the court. Israel has never recognised its jurisdiction.