Reuters Behind the diplomatic battle over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations this week is the prospect of a new front in the Middle East conflict: the international courts. The Palestinians hope that full or partial UN recognition of Palestine as an independent state could give them the power to bring the Israeli government or its officials before war-crimes tribunals or sue them in other global venues. Through formal recognition as a state, the Palestinians could gain greater standing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other global judicial bodies, where they could try to put Israel on the stand. That scenario hinges on how far the statehood effort gets in New York, where the United States is maneuvering intensively to stop it. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has formally applied on Friday for UN membership at the Security Council, and if eventually rejected there he'll turn to the General Assembly. While only the Security Council can approve full membership, a two-thirds majority of UN member states can — and almost certainly would — vote to upgrade the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine from “entity” to “non-member state.” This may not sound like much, but the key word is “state.” As a recognized state, Palestine could go to other international bodies where the United States wields no veto and request membership or accession to international treaties. Each organization has its own rules for admission, but at each of them General Assembly recognition would strengthen Palestinian claims to membership. The biggest jurisdictional prize cited by Palestinians is the Hague-based ICC, the successor to war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that was created by the Rome Statute. The ICC is the one international venue where individuals can be criminally charged, and all 117 countries that ratified the Rome Statute are bound to turn over suspects. Israel hasn't joined the Rome Statute — nor has the United States — but this would not stop the Palestinians from pursuing cases under its auspice. Alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity can be referred for investigation to the ICC's prosecutors by the Security Council or by ICC member states. Non-member states can also ask the ICC to assume jurisdiction on their territories. The Palestinians did just that in October 2009, requesting the prosecution of Israeli officials who carried out the 2008-2009 conflict with Hamas in Gaza and earlier “acts committed on the territory of Palestine.” The ICC chief prosecutor never decided whether the entity Palestine has enough standing to make such a claim. But statehood recognition by the General Assembly could strongly influence any future ruling, said Robert Malley, the Middle East program director for the International Crisis Group. And that's what frightens Israel. Israeli generals and defense officials involved in the fighting over Gaza have already canceled trips to international conferences in London and Madrid out of fear they could be served with international arrest warrants there. “Israelis are afraid of being hauled to The Hague,” Malley said. __
