HAMAS SIGNS PALESTINIAN APPLICATION FOR ICC MEMBERSHIP, ISRAEL ON THE BACKFOOT
Hamas signs Palestinian petition for membership of the International Criminal Court
NEW DELHI: In a major move Hamas has signed a pledge to back any Palestinian effort to join the International Criminal Court, a move, if it happens, that can expose Israel to war crime investigations. This flies in the face of allegations that Hamas was stopping the membership as like Israel, it would be subjected to war trials.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is viewed more favourably by Israel and the west, has thus far stopped short of pushing for membership to the ICC. One of Israel’s negotiation conditions has been that the Abbas-led PA halt Palestinian bids for membership to a number of international organisations.
However, as Israel’s assault on Gaza enters its 50th day, with 2200 killed including almost 500 children, pressure to turn to the court, thereby holding Israel accountable internationally, has been mounting.
“Hamas signed the document which (Palestinian) president (Mahmoud Abbas) put forth as a condition that all factions approve, before he goes to sign the Rome Statute, which paves the way for Palestine's membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC)," Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzouq said in a statement on Facebook.
Last month, Abbas, who knows that a formal move for ICC membership would further exacerbate relations with Israel and the west, had said that he would not make the move without the written consent of all Palestinian factions.
According to AFP, the Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful force in Gaza, "is currently the only Palestinian faction that has not signed" the document. According to the same report, Islamic Jihad, too, is considering signing.
Moving to the ICC, would, in turn, also expose Palestinian factions to the charge of war crimes -- with Israel maintaining that its actions are a “self defence measure” in response to rocket attacks from Palestinian territory.
With the talks brokered by Egypt having failed and Israel’s assault on Gaza resuming, any escalation in tensions at a foreign relations level can impact the situation on the ground.
Israel’s assault on Gaza had seen ten days of peace as the Israeli and Palestinian sides tried to arrive at a more long term solution during negotiations in Cairo. However, with the talks failing on Tuesday, at least 70 people have been killed in fresh attacks. The deaths include four people who were struck whilst their relatives, and most significantly for Israel, three top Hamas commanders who were killed early Thursday morning. The wife and eight month old son of top Hamas leader Mohammed Deif were also killed late Tuesday, in an attack that was meant to target Deif.
These recent deaths brought thousands of people on to the streets, marching in funerals as Israel continued its assault. Ma’an news quoted a Hamas spokesperson saying that these deaths will not break the will of the Palestinians or dent the Palestinian resistance.
The Palestinians blame Israel for the failure of the talks, and Ma’an quoted a Hamas spokesperson saying that a new Palestinian proposal -- that took into consideration Israeli demands -- had been proposed, and that the Palestinians were waiting to hear from the Israeli sides. No other details were provided, and both sides have withdrawn their delegations.
Earlier, AP had quoted Azzam al-Ahmad, leader of the Palestinian delegation saying that although the Palestinians had submitted a ceasefire proposal to the Egyptians, “it's clear the Israelis are not interested in the cease-fire. We did not hear from them. We were willing to, but we did not hear from them."
Israel, in turn, pinned the blame on the Palestinians, saying that rocket attacks from Palestinian territory whilst the ceasefire was still in place on Tuesday, was a key reason for the failure of the talks and the resumption of hostilities.
The Palestinians deny that rockets had been fired first. Ma’an news agency quoted another Hamas spokesperson, Moussa Abu Marzouq, saying that Israel "ended the truce and claimed that three rockets hit Israel, which Hamas had no information about." Marzouq said that whilst the Palestinians were ready to negotiate for peace, "all options are open now: a new truce, keeping the war going, or signing an agreement.”
The resumption of Israeli air strikes pushed the death toll to over the 2100 mark, with Egypt expressing “profound regret” over the failure of the talks. The UN Security Council "called upon the parties to resume negotiations to urgently reach a sustainable and lasting ceasefire".
It is not clear whether either side will resume talks, with both having previously indicated that this attempt was their last. The talks were seeming to be making headway amidst a week long truce (a 72 hour ceasefire was followed by a five day ceasefire, which was extended by an additional 24 hours and set to expire midnight on Tuesday). However, the wide disparity in positions between Israel and Palestine rendered the dialogue process shaky from the start, with the key Palestinian demand -- of lifting the eight year blockade on Gaza -- proving to be a complication.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri reiterated this position, saying, as quoted by AFP, "there is no way back from this. All these demands are basic human rights that do not need this battle or these negotiations. The only way to have security is for Palestinians to feel it first and have the blockade lifted.”
There was however, a limited breakthrough in the talks, with demands agreed to including Israel increasing the daily number of trucks into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Nahal Oz crossings to 600 from 250; allowing money transfers from the Palestinian Authority to Gaza to cover salaries of Hamas civil servants; the designated fishing zone will be extended to 12 nautical miles; and 500 permits will be issued to Gazans monthly to use the Erez crossing.
Ma’an news agency reported that Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah crossing, which will be monitored by Palestinian Authority Guards.
The points that required further negotiation were the focus of this round of talks. Ma’an news quoted Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader, saying that key Palestinian demands include a seaport and airport, release of dozens of prisoners who Israel re-arrested after releasing them in 2011 as part of the Shalit exchange, a creation of a safe passage between Israel and the Gaza strip, and the lifting of the eight year blockade on Gaza.
As Ma’an points out, the demands are consistent with the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and Palestine, but which Israel has failed to abide by, by refusing to negotiate with Hamas.
With both sides blaming the other for the failure of the talks, there is a likelihood of fresh violence in the Gaza strip -- that has claimed over 2000 Palestinian lives, including 541 children, 250 women and 95 elderly men, since Israel’s offensive on Gaza began on June 8.
The failure of this round of talks echoes the failure of a similar Egypt brokered ceasefire that failed a few weeks ago with the Palestinians saying that Israel was refusing to accept key demands. Qays Abu Layla, member of the Palestinian delegation to Cairo, told Ma’an news agency that Israel’s agenda was to return to the pre-war situation, whereas the lifting of the blockade on Gaza was the key Palestinian demand.
Similarly, a previous US-UN brokered 72-hour ceasefire collapsed within hours. Israel broke the ceasefire by pounding Rafah, killing over 60 people. The reason for the renewed hostilities was the alleged capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian fighters, who reportedly emerged from a tunnel near Rafah. Israel eventually declared the soldier dead, saying he had not been captured but was killed in battle. Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior official in the political wing of Hamas, told Turkish media that an Israeli soldier had been captured, but the incident took place prior to the acceptance of the ceasefire.
There have been several other attempts at a ceasefire, including one by US Secretary of State John Kerry which was rejected by Israel, and a twelve hour humanitarian ceasefire called by the UN which could not be extended by an additional 24 hours. An earlier three-step ceasefire proposal by Egypt was accepted by the Israeli side, but rejected by the Palestinians.
Egypt has previously effectively played the role a mediator, negotiating a 2011 deal that released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and a 2012 ceasefire that followed eight days of conflict that left over a 160 people in Gaza dead. However, Hamas relationship with Egypt has soured since the the military ouster of Egypt’s elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, who had close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is considered an off-shoot. Former general and current Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is widely perceived to have taken a strong stand against Hamas, echoing the United State’s view that considers Hamas a terrorist outfit and a strategic threat.
A major bone of contention between Egypt and Hamas has been the shutting down of tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, at the behest of the former. These tunnels served as a crucial economic lifeline for Gaza, and one of Hamas’ key demands has been the opening of the Rafah crossing between the two territories. The first Egyptian proposal however, referred only to crossings “between Israel and Gaza.”
Given the context and the differing stance of Sisi in comparison to Morsi, Egypt’s traditional role as a mediator in the region was compromised, with the ceasefire proposal being widely viewed as a pro-Israeli bailout by the Palestinians. The Egyptian leader however, defended Egypt’s efforts at mediation, saying that the Palestinian demand of an end to the blockade could be achieved once the ceasefire was in place. “What we want is that normal citizens in the Gaza Strip not be subjected to what they are going through now,” Sisi said, with Palestinians continuing to object to the terms that equated what the Palestinians consider a right to resistance with Israeli aggression.
Sisi’s words were perhaps too optimistic, as Palestine’s demand of ending the blockade has still not been addressed, despite the acceptance of a ceasefire and the commencement of talks.
The crisis in the region, which has claimed almost 2000 lives in over a month, follows the death of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir that sparked four days of violent crashes in Jerusalem. The Israeli police arrested six people in connection with Khdeir’s brutal death, who Palestinians maintain was killed to avenge the death of three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found in the occupied West Bank.
Israel pinned the blame for the disappearance and execution of the three teenagers on Hamas, albeit with no certain evidence pointing to Hamas’ involvement. Israel responded to the killings by launching a massive security operation in the West Bank, rounding up Palestinians suspected of being Hamas operatives. The operation involved the tightening of Israel’s system of checkpoints, preventing Palestinians from the West Bank from entering Jerusalem, cancelling permits for prayer, and demolishing the homes of people labeled guilty without evidence or proof of their guilt or any recourse to the judicial process. The searches and mass arrests brought many Palestinians onto the streets in protest, leading to clashes in which at least five Palestinians were killed.
The developments are located in the context of heightened tensions between the two sides following a Palestinian unity deal involving Hamas and Fatah. The Palestine unity deal was the final straw leading to Israel pulling out of the US-led Israel-Palestine peace talks, which had hit various roadblocks on issues such as Israel’s demand that it be recognized as a “Jewish state,” which Palestinian Authority President Abbas did not agree to; the release of Palestinian prisoners after Israel reneged on an agreement to free prisoners in exchange for Palestine halting a push for membership to UN bodies; attacks and increased Israeli construction in besieged Gaza strip and West Bank territory as Palestinians consider Israeli incursion beyond the pre-1967 territorial lines to be illegal and an obstacle to peace, whereas Israel refuses to recognise what has been termed as the 'Green line' as a starting point for negotiations.