Palestinians recently joined the International Criminal Court and membership gives them the right to pursue Israel for war crimes. This will raise tensions with Israel and the United States, and risks exposing Palestinian officials to war crimes charges themselves. But that is a risk Palestinians are willing to take because after decades of struggle and on-and-off peace talks which have failed to end the conflict, Palestinians must pursue a new strategy and take their cause to a court of law. From April 1, the day Palestine formally joined the ICC, the court received automatic jurisdiction over any crimes committed in the territory of the Palestinian Authority. It has also already received permission to make a preliminary examination of events since June 13, 2014, which was shortly before the Israeli offensive in Gaza. This means the court's prosecutor could investigate last year's 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during which more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed. The court handles just the kinds of cases that were evident during last summer's blitzkrieg on Gaza: War crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It could exercise jurisdiction over such crimes committed by anyone on Palestinian territory. Israel is not an ICC member but its citizens could be tried on accusations of crimes on Palestinian land. Israel is opposed to the court, is not a member and apparently has no plans to cooperate with investigators. It will not be able to block a case from being launched, but it could stall the process to trial by starting its own inquiries into the conduct of its soldiers, stonewalling investigators, and ultimately refusing to hand over suspects. A refusal by Israel to cooperate could thwart any attempt by the court to investigate or charge Israeli citizens. However, it will say a lot about Israel if it does not respond. Israel may ignore ICC summonses to appear in court and tear up arrest warrants, but in so doing it will formally show the world that it does not want to concede an inch to the Palestinians, neither their rights nor their land. There is a flip side to Palestine joining the ICC. ICC prosecutors will now have the right to investigate any alleged crimes on the Palestinian side. There is also Washington, which gives the Palestinian Authority $400 million each year, but under US law this support will be cut if Palestine presses claims against Israel at the ICC. Most damaging are Israeli and US objections to what they see as unilateral approaches by Palestine to international bodies. They say they undermine chances for a negotiated peace deal. But where are these peace negotiations? The last attempt was scrapped exactly a year ago, mainly because of Israel's expansion of settlements, and no plans have been announced for a renewed effort. However, that doomed effort, coupled with Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign pledge that there will be no Palestinian state on his watch as premier, will ironically help the Palestinians. A two-state solution is Washington's stated policy goal and President Obama has taken Netanyahu at his word, which directly contravenes that objective. Washington's counter that it will explore new avenues to reach a peace deal means possible US support for Palestine in forums like the UN where Palestinians are bidding for independence, and maybe even in the ICC where Washington might strongly recommend that Israel makes a major policy shift by cooperating with or even joining the ICC. Despite Israeli bravado, Palestine's membership in the ICC poses a major dilemma for Israel. The panic attacks on the part of Israel suggest that Palestinians are not the only ones taking the court seriously.
