This is driven by politics, not pursuit of justice
ICC CHIEF prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who is leading the preliminary investigation into IDF conduct in Gaza, is from Gambia, which has a horrendous human-rights record. If the ICC was truly a vehicle for promoting justice and international law, the leaders of Gambia would be in the dock. But the ICC, like the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and similar bodies, is primarily driven by politics, and not jus- tice or other moral principles.
Armed with this knowledge, for 35 years Palestinian leaders and their allies have advanced the strategy to exploit the ICC as a battleground for political and legal warfare. Working closely with anti-Israel NGO allies such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and dozens of groups funded by British and European governments, this attack, exploiting the façade of human rights, has proceeded steadily.
The 2009 UN Goldstone “report” on alleged Israeli war crimes during the Gaza war earlier that year was designed to trigger ICC proceedings against Israel. However, this document was thoroughly discredited, including belatedly by Mr Goldstone. Later, the ICC prosecutor closed the case on the grounds that “Palestine” was neither a state nor a member of the ICC.
Since then, further steps were taken and forms filed, accompanied by intense pressure from the PA, the Arab League, the NGOs, and echoed in the media. The UN launched yet another pseudo-investigation of Israel, this time headed by certified Israel-basher William Schabas, who declared the aim of putting Prime Minister Netan- yahu in the ICC’s dock.
In parallel, the ICC was criticised for focusing all of its previous prosecutions on Africa, and the search was on for a nonAfrican case. Israel answers the description, and this may been part of the decision.
While it is very unlikely that Israelis will stand trial at the ICC, the political war advances, via headlines linking Israel to “war crimes” and the BDS movement. More than any other factor, this is why Israel, not Gambia, is Ms Bensouda’s focus. Gerald Steinberg is president of NGO Monitor