Palestinians will prosecute Israel in ICC

The Palestinians have warned that they will seek justice for the case of Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the International Criminal Court.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, urged the General Assembly on Wednesday to support a resolution that called on Israel and the Palestinians to carry out independent investigations into human rights violations during the Gaza war, AP reported.

The resolution was proposed after a report released by South African Judge Richard Goldstone concluded that Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its December-January offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

It also accused Hamas of infringing international conventions.

Mansour, however, said Israel’s “aggressions and crimes” cannot be equated “with actions committed in response by the Palestinian side.”

“We are determined to follow up this report and its recommendations in all relevant international forums, including the Security Council and the International Criminal Court, until the realization of justice,” he added.

But Israel’s UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev claimed that “the Goldstone report and this debate do not promote peace – they damage any effort to revitalize negotiations in our region.”

The report recommended that the case be referred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague if the two sides fail to start an investigation into the crimes within six months.