Czech Republic Offers ICC to Be ‘Friend of the Court’ in Israel-Palestine Case

The Czech Republic filed a petition Thursday with the International Criminal Court, requesting to be "a friend of the court" in deliberations that will examine if it has the jurisdiction to rule whether Israel is committing war crimes against the Palestinians.

In December, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stated that there is reasonable basis to investigate Israel for its actions but has requested the court to decide over the question of its jurisdiction in the Palestinians territories. Israel's attorney general argued that the ICC, to which Israel is not a party, "lacks jurisdiction in relation to Israel and that any Palestinian actions with respect to the court are legally invalid," as the Palestinian Authority is not a sovereign states, although it has joined the ICC's Rome Statute.

The Prosecutor's Office specifically noted allegations that Israel has been involved in demolishing Palestinian property and evicting Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It also referenced 2014's Operation Protective Edge, the war in the Gaza Strip, as well as Israel's plan to evacuate residents of the Bedouin village Khan al-Ahmar, and Israeli construction of settlements in the West Bank.

In January the ICC said it would delay its debate into whether it has the jurisdiction to probe alleged Israeli war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem due to a procedural error related to the filing's page limit.

Also in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview on a Christian television network that the International Criminal Court is in a "full frontal attack" on democracy and the Jewish people's right to live in Israel, and called for sanctions on the world court in light of its prosecutor's intent to probe Israel's alleged war crimes against Palestinians.

More details soon…