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Israel pressuring Palestinians to drop ICC case for cellular network: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Israel has threatened to deny the Palestinian Authority (PA) permission for a second cellular phone provider to operate in the West Bank unless the PA drops its request that the International Criminal Court investigate Israel for possible war crimes, Haaretz reported Sunday. The PA has contracted with Wataniya Mobile to provide service in the West Bank and faces a $300 million penalty if it does not receive Israel's approval by October 15. According to the report, Israel is using the impending deadline to pressure the PA into dropping its request that the ICC investigate Israel for possible war crimes committed in December and January during Operation Cast Lead. Israeli officials, according to Haaretz, feel betrayed by the PA, claiming that the PA urged Israel to take a strong stand against Hamas and then appealed to the ICC when Israel did so. Israel recently rejected a UN recommendation that the country establish an independent investigation into its actions during Operation Cast Lead. The recommendation came from a report released earlier this month that found both Israeli and Palestinian forces had likely committed war crimes during the conflict. Israel refused to cooperate in the investigation. Although the PA appealed to the ICC in February, the court ruled it must first consider whether the PA is similar enough to a state under international law to appeal to the court.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on September 28, 2009 (boomark / email).