The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, today, Monday, presented the written State of Palestine pleading to the First Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, through which it affirmed that the International Criminal Court and the Prosecutor have a regional mandate in accordance with the Rome Charter to consider crimes that fall within Its jurisdiction, especially war crimes and crimes against humanity committed and committed on the territory of the State of Palestine.
The Ministry indicated that the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation submitted their written pleadings to the Pre-Trial Chamber I, in addition to what was provided by Palestinian and international human rights organizations, in addition to international experts and legal experts, and lawyers for victims, based on the importance of the role that the International Criminal Court will play in promoting justice and peace.
The submission of written pleadings comes in implementation of the First Pre-Trial Chamber´s decision issued on January 28 of this year, in which the procedures and timetable for submitting pleadings related to the territorial jurisdiction of the court were established in the case in the State of Palestine. In the decision, according to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, the Pre-Trial Chamber 1: “invites Palestine and the victims in the situation in the State of Palestine to submit written observations on the Prosecutor’s request no later than 16 March 2020, and based on the Prosecutor’s request from the Pre-Trial Chamber to decide on the issue of the scope The territorial jurisdiction of the court in relation to the situation in the state of Palestine, and asked it to "acknowledge that the territory over which the court is entitled to exercise its jurisdiction includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza."
The Foreign Ministry affirmed that, through its written pleading, it provided the International Criminal Court with all historical and legal facts that reinforce the firm position that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, is the territory of the State of Palestine and the court may exercise its territorial jurisdiction over it, allowing the Prosecutor to open an investigation Official criminal.
It demanded the necessity of speeding up the issuance of its ruling, in line with the time frame specified in the ICC Practices Manual, not exceeding 120 days, which would allow the Prosecutor to proceed with the opening of the criminal investigation without further delay.
The Ministry affirmed that the State of Palestine adheres to its legal obligations as a member state in the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, and will continue its firm commitment to cooperating with the Court, believing in the importance of the court’s role in ending the most serious crimes and holding perpetrators accountable, and its absolute conviction that justice is the key to peace.
