Both the US and Israeli have publicly argued that the ICC lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, but did not submit any legal briefs on the matter to the court.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFInternational Criminal Court(photo credit: FLICKR/GREGER RAVIK)
The window for the International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber to issue a jurisdictional ruling with regard to the ICC’s ability to hear war crimes suits regarding the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem could close Friday and not be reopened until August 13.There is no set date by which the ICC must rule on the matter, but speculation has been high that the court could issue a ruling this month in an attempt to avert any pending Israeli annexation plans.Unless the pre-trial chamber releases a ruling Friday, however, no action is likely to happen until at least mid-August.Both the US and Israeli have publicly argued that the ICC lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, but did not submit any legal briefs on the matter to the court.There is some speculation that the US and Israel have delayed any annexation announcement until after an ICC ruling, so that any movement forward with the application of sovereignty over West Bank settlements could be viewed as a direct response to the court.The US is already in conflict with the ICC over its March decision to allow its Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate the US regarding possible war crimes in Afghanistan.Last month Trump signed an executive authorizing the blocking of assets and travel restrictions against ICC employees involved in the investigation into its alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.The Trump administration has argued that the ICC’s intervention in both issues is politically motivated.In an interview earlier this month, France 24 asked the Bensouda if she felt that the US sanctions were also released to the Trump administration’s opposition to the ICC investigation of Israel.“It is no secret that the administrations in the US and the state of Israel are coordinating their reactions and their policies toward the court,” Bensouda said.“Both sides know, or ought two know, that we are a professional office, doing our job, dispassionately with no agenda, other than honorably fulfilling our duties,” Bensouda said.In an interview with The Jerusalem Press Club on Thursday, attorney Tom Gal, an associate at the Goldfarb Law Firm, said that recent ICC decisions pointed to the ICC’s interest in expanding its range of jurisdiction.“It seems that the prosecutor is looking for very creative ways to enlarge its jurisdiction... Afghanistan, the PA, and also the recent case in Bangladesh and Myanmar are good examples of that,” Gal said.Reuters contributed to this report.
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