August 22, 2014
The
Right Honorable Ms. Fatou Bensouda
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM, The Hague
The Netherlands
Re:
Request for the initiation of an investigation into crimes committed and
ongoing during and immediately before Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in
Gaza pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute, on the basis of information on
crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
Dear
Madam Prosecutor:
I write
on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild, the first racially integrated United
States bar association formed in 1937 to advocate for the protection of
constitutional, human, and civil rights, and the endorsing organizations
indicated below.
In
light of the extreme gravity of the situation in the occupied Gaza Strip, in
particular the large number of civilian casualties and large scale destruction
of civilian property, including schools, mosques and hospitals, and the ongoing
incitement to genocide perpetrated by Israeli political figures and leaders,
the National Lawyers Guild and endorsing organizations strongly urge the Office
of the Prosecutor to immediately use its power under Article 15 of the Rome
Statute to initiate a preliminary investigation on “the basis of information on
crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court” (article 15(1)).
A
number of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations have conducted
preliminary investigations and prepared reports that strongly suggest that
crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have
been and are being committed. Credible information from “states, organs of the
United Nations, intergovernmental or non-governmental organizations [and] other
reliable sources,” including eyewitness accounts (article 15(2)), is readily
and widely available. The “seriousness of the information” available is beyond
doubt, which is why both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay have called for accountability and
justice. High Commissioner Pillay specifically stated that there is “increasing
evidence of war crimes” being committed in Gaza.
clearly disproportionate use of force against the 1.8 million residents of Gaza
appears to have little to do with any claim of security, but seems to be
calculated to exact revenge against Palestinian civilians. Even before Israel’s
extensive aerial bombardment of Gaza began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu alluded to Israel’s aim. On July 1, 2014, at the televised funeral of
the three slain settlers, Netanyahu stoked the emotions of the mourners by
quoting from a Hebrew poem: “vengeance for the blood of a small
child, Satan has not yet created” and
calling for God to “avenge their blood.” He later tweeted that same line
from the poem. The next day, Palestinian teen Mohammad Abu Khdeir was set on
fire and murdered by extremist settlers, and acts of violence and incitement
against Palestinians by Israeli settlers, police and occupation forces
increased dramatically.