The International Criminal Court and Israeli settlements: a travesty of justice?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) claims that by enabling Jews to live in East Jerusalem, Israel is committing war crimes.
The current situation in Sheikh Jarrah is an example of such claims. Many argue that East Jerusalem is illegally occupied territory, and that by “evicting” Palestinian families from their houses, Israel is committing war crimes.
The ICC recently decided to investigate “war crimes committed in the territory of Palestine”. There are two kinds of war crimes it will investigate: (a) crimes concerning the use of force by Israeli and Hamas forces during Gaza conflicts since 2014; and (b) Israel’s “settlements policies” in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The allegation that Israeli settlements policies constitute war crimes raises immensely important issues.