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>From http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20020412-73662628.htm
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The Washington Times
www.washtimes.com
Calls begin for war crimes trial for Israelis
Nicholas Kralev
THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 4/12/2002
Palestinian sympathizers in Europe and the Arab world called yesterday for the
Israeli government to be investigated for war crimes, raising the prospect that
leaders of the Jewish state could be among the first targets of the new International
Criminal Court.
That court became a reality yesterday at a U.N. signing ceremony in New York,
with representatives of 66 countries that have ratified the treaty establishing the
first
global war- crimes tribunal. The United States denounced the treaty as a violation of
international law.
With the U.S. seat in the hall empty, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan vowed
that "those who commit war crimes, genocide or other crimes against humanity will
no longer be beyond the reach of justice."
As the Israeli incursion in the West Bank showed no signs of abating yesterday
despite Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's arrival in Israel, an Israeli-Arab
legislator
suggested that members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet be investigated for
"war crimes" in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Mohammad Barakeh, a communist member of the Knesset, the Israeli
parliament, accused Mr. Sharon's government of "serious violations of human rights
and humanitarian conventions." He named specifically Mr. Sharon and Defense
Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
"The Israeli army has indiscriminately shelled refugee camps, using helicopters,
warplanes, tanks and heavy artillery, killing hundreds of people. Medical assistance
has been denied; hospitals have been shelled," Mr. Barakeh said.
"The population is starving because of the curfew, while water pipes and
electricity networks have been destroyed," he wrote in a letter to the International
Court of Justice, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
But international legal experts said the International Criminal Court is a more
appropriate place for such appeals to be directed because it can bring individuals to
justice, while the International Court of Justice, as a U.N. organ, deals only with
cases between states. The ICC, although negotiated by the United Nations, has its
own statute, a U.N. official said.
The Israeli army on March 29 began its largest military operation in the
Palestinian territories since the 1967 war, invading six major West Bank cities. It
said
the attacks, in which more than 200 Palestinians have been killed, were in response
to a series of suicide bombings in Israel.
On Tuesday, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called for the Israeli leadership to
be brought before the International Court of Justice for the "massacres" committed
by the army.
In Madrid yesterday, the Spanish judge who led international efforts to prosecute
former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for war crimes accused Israel of
committing "crimes against humanity."
Baltazar Garzon, in a statement to mark his nomination as a candidate for the
Nobel Peace Prize, said the "terrorist attacks" against Israel by Palestinian militants
should end but that they "in no way authorize any state to engage in illegal
responses."
Mr. Garzon welcomed the ratification of the ICC treaty and called it "a key peace
initiative."
At the ceremony in New York, 10 countries brought the number of nations to ratify
the 1998 Rome treaty to 66 � six more than needed for it to enter into force July 1.
The tribunal is not expected to begin functioning until next year.
The United States signed the treaty with serious reservations at the 11th hour in
December 2000, just before President Clinton left office. The Bush administration
has said from the start that it will not submit it for ratification to Congress, even
though all other NATO members have done so.
The administration is seriously considering withdrawing the U.S. signature, though
no final decision has been made, State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker
told reporters.
"It has a number of fundamental problems," he said of the international tribunal.
"It
purports to assert jurisdiction over nationals of states not party to the treaty,
contrary
to the most basic principles of customary international law governing treaties."
Mr. Reeker said the United States is concerned that its military and civilian
personnel will be exposed to politically motivated investigations and prosecutions.
"Accountability is a serious problem," he said. "Relatively unrestricted powers of
the prosecutor and the court may lead to politicized second-guessing of a state's
ability or willingness to investigate its own personnel."
Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, said yesterday that Washington should seek immunity from
the court for all of its peacekeeping troops.
"We would oppose any future U.S. military participation in U.N. peacekeeping
operations where the Security Council refuses to grant such immunity to our
personnel," he wrote in a letter to Mr. Powell.
"The United States must begin now to implement policies to protect against the
unintended consequences that will flow from establishment of the ICC," he said.
"The ICC is more likely to hinder than help efforts to prevent genocide, war
crimes
and crimes against humanity," Mr. Hyde said, noting that "dictators with the blood of
thousands on their hands will scoff at the threat."
Copyright � 2002 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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