Will ICC Fulfill Mandate Over War Crimes Charges Against Zionist Authorities?

Geneva  — Amid the international outcry for accountability for the Zionist war crimes which left more than 1,900 Palestinians and 67 Israelis dead, the International Criminal Court is expected to fulfill its mandate to hold inquiry into the war crimes Israel perpetrated in Gaza.

ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has made clear that she has no authority to investigate crimes in Gaza.

US and UN officials have sharpened their criticism of Israel, condemning the shelling of UN-run shelters in Gaza in strong terms, and demanding that those responsible for civilian deaths be held accountable.

The air strike near a U.N. school in Rafah that killed at least 10 civilians is ˈa moral outrage and a criminal act,ˈ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power said it was ˈhorrifyingˈ and called on Israel to ˈconduct a full and prompt investigation of this incident as well as the recent strikes that hit other UNRWA schools.ˈ

Israel and the Palestinians have not held their own fully accountable for excesses in previous conflicts, including Operation Cast Lead in 2008 to 2009 and the more limited Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, according to U.N. officials and human rights advocates.

Only four Israeli soldiers were prosecuted following Operation Cast Lead, according to U.N. and human rights groups.

ˈOne of the convictions was for stealing a credit card. And the other three soldiers, convicted of more serious crimes, received extraordinarily light sentences,ˈ Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said.

She said: ˈIn April 2013, the Military Advocate General issued a public document indicating that it found no basis for opening criminal investigations into approximately 65 incidents involving the Israel Defense Forces during the 2012 operation known as ˈPillar of Defense.ˈ

In a later statement calling for an International Criminal Court investigation, Pillay said, ˈAccountability and justice is unlikely to be achieved through domestic proceedings.ˈ

The International Criminal Court was established by the Rome Statute in 2002 to prosecute the world’s worst violators of human rights.

The court’s authority only extends to citizens of countries that have signed the treaty or cases where the U.N. Security Council votes to authorize an investigation. Israel, which is not a signatory and can count on the United States to block a Security Council referral to the ICC.

Resistance groups to give crushing response to Zionists, says Abdollahian

On the other hand in Berlin, the resistance groups have emphasized that if the ceasefire is violated and the Zionist regime’s aggressions continue, they will give a crushing response to Israel, Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said here on Thursday.

Speaking to IRNA, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that if the Zionist regime breaches the ceasefire, the resistance groups would use their most advanced weapons to foil the attacks.

By using their more advanced armaments, the Rresistance Movement will make situation more complicated for the Tel Aviv regime, he stressed.

The FM official further condemned attacks on kindergartens and UN schools in Gaza and said killing innocent and defenseless children was a historical catastrophe.

He also referred to his meetings with German officials in Berlin on Wednesday, adding his meetings focused on important Mideast issues, including the Gaza war, the crisis in Syria and the situation in Iraq.

Amir-Abdollahian pointed out that Tehran and Berlin have had fruitful discussions on developments in West Asia and North Africa for the past two years.

He reiterated that Zionists made strategic mistakes by military attacks on Gaza and its defenseless inhabitants.

Commenting on the ongoing situation in Iraq and terrorist operations there, he noted that threats posed by extremism and terrorism in the region were stressed by the German side.

Iran-G5+1 nuclear talks were among other issues discussed by the two countries in different meetings, he said, adding that Berlin is interested in reaching a lasting agreement between the two sides.

IRNA

R.S