A secret State Department diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks has revealed that one of the primary reasons behind Israeli objections to Palestinian statehood is that lack of statehood keeps Palestinian territories outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes war crimes.
Military Advocate General for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Avichai Mandelblit met with US Ambassador James B. Cunningham in February of 2010 to discuss investigations into allegations of misconduct during Israel’s attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, called Operation Cast Lead.
Mandelblit noted to Cunningham that Palestinian Authority Justice Minister Ali Kashan had requested that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo investigate alleged Israeli war crimes in the occupied territories since 2002, up to and including Operation Cast Lead. The cable reads: “Mandelblit said several legal opinions had been delivered to Ocampo noting that the ICC had no legal jurisdiction due to the PA’s lack of statehood…”
The dialogue is unusually blunt, since Israel’s public objections to Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, to be voted upon this month, have been mundane and political in nature.
After requesting multiple times that the US “state publicly its position that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel regarding the Gaza operation,” Mandelblit “warned that PA pursuit of Israel through the ICC would be viewed as war by the GOI [Government of Israel].”
Mandelblit seems to deflect allegations of war crimes, not by denying they took place, but by dismissing them via a legal technicality. Accompanying Mandelblit was IDF Head of the International Law Department Col. Liron Libman who “noted that the ICC was the most dangerous issue for Israel,” reads the cable.
Mandelblit also dismissed the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, called the Goldstone report after its chief judge, which found both Israel and Hamas guilty of war crimes. “The GOI hopes that eventually Goldstone would ‘vanish,'” the cable reads. He also pointed to the IDF’s own investigations of the conflict, but dismissed the possibility of an independent “commission of inquiry to review IDF investigations,” saying “nobody thinks we should do it.”
The cable also reveals the first official recognition found within the WikiLeaks cables of Israel’s use of unmanned drone aircraft in Operation Cast Lead. In a bombing by one of these drones, up to 16 civilians were killed. “A UAV [drone aircraft] shot at two Hamas fighters in front of the mosque,” reads the cable, “and 16 casualties resulted inside the mosque due to an open door through which shrapnel entered during a time of prayer.”
In a cable from a year earlier in February of 2009, Israeli Ambassador Benny Dagan admitted to US official Robert J. Silverman that “The current strategy is to use disproportionate force to respond to attacks by Hizballah and Hamas, noting it may take repeated strikes in both cases.”
Up to 1,400 Palestinians were killed in attacks by Israeli forces during Operation Cast Lead between, while some 5,000 were injured. Hundreds of those killed, up to half by some estimates, were unarmed civilians, including some 300 children, more than 115 women and some 85 men over the age of 50. Billions of dollars of infrastructure damage and numerous incidents of IDF attacks on civilian facilities, among other crimes.
If Israel could be charged with war crimes if Palestine achieves statehood then I assume Hamas could not as the PLO (Fatah) is the sole representative of the Palestinian people (according to previous UN resolution)… Hardly fair that Hamas would have such immunity?
Israel has routinely murdered arabs without trial so why would you talk about fair? Why would you object to having a trail in the first place? Are you afraid that the trial will question why cluster bombs were dropped on children playground? I would think you would welcome the trial to show how honorable your side has been. What are you hiding?
Gee, let's see, Hamas charged with killing, maybe 20 Israeli soldiers, versus Israelis charged with killing thousands of civilians. Yeah, that seems equal. Moron.
Did you real say fair??
Wonder who gave Israel the drones?
America has always been disappointed with it's NATO members for their behavior. But when they found out that a middle eastern country like Israel shares with them the same democratic ideals and values, they gave them as gifts.
No one gave Israel the drones. Israel developed the drones and sold them to the USA. In matter of fact, Israel developed a drone as big as a 707 so that it could bomb Iran without returning to Israel. Stop wondering and "wise up."
Israel "prosecuted" for war crimes IF Palestine gains statehood? Oh that's rich! Either way, Israel will face accountability when pigs sprout wings and take to flying holding patterns over downtown Jerusalem.
You much be one of those fool who believed the brad pitt movie that 7 and ptit took on the entire German military and got Hitler upset. It was a fairy tail much like the warrior of the IDF. The IDF has been a sneak attack organization who quickly found a way to make peace before the other side could get organized. The golan heights is an clear example of how they operate. 2 am Israel receives formal acceptance from Syria of the cease fire proposed by Israel. At 9 am they broke the cease fire and attacked. So I would not be so glee full at the idea of the IDF warrior. They are tough individual but bleed like every other soldier. The difference is they are lead by people who know to get others to do the fighting.
Right you are, Isreal is above the law, they have the holocaust for a complete defence to all their war crimes. The perfect get out of jail free card. Isreal, created because of the holocaust—Isreal, the justification and cause for the next.
Even with all the stolen land Israel is going to cause its own demise and a nucular weapon is not needed.
Let hope that the first war criminal investigation is over the murder of the crew of the USS Liberty. There hopefully is time life to hang a lot of the Israel leaders who attacked our ship. It might be a good time to invest in rope with the number of criminals who need to be hung over the actions of israel during the last 60 years.
Absolutely! And be sure to buy more rope for the Americans who aided and covered up all these past crimes.
I think there is a more fundamental reason why Israel will not accept a Palestinian state. That would end the dream of expelling the Arabs and taking over all of the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"Paul Lazzaro is a guy with a permanent chip on his shoulder, a total psychopath who judges every encounter he has with a person based on how much respect they show him. Revenge is the sweetest thing in life for Lazzaro, and he is always looking for an excuse to get some. The narrator compares Lazzaro to a rabid dog."
Description of character in novel Slaughterhouse Five at: http://www.shmoop.com/slaughterhouse-five/paul-la…
Sound familiar?
The hole world knows Israel is breaking every law you could think of stealing land and murdering innocent civilians.America and there partners in crime no it true but support Israel well desatroying America.I don't understand why.The truth is America Israel and friends are the real terrorists.America calls people protecting there country from occupation and mass murder of civilians and freedom fighters.How would Americans act if a coutry was doing the same thing to them the same way with a more armed population and more people.People that see things different must be blind.
I think it is wonderful that we live in the day that war criminals and their corporate finance structures can no longer hide behind national security to cover up their war crimes. Thank you Mr. Assange!
Israel should be forced to disarm and pay the Palestianians for 60 years of oppression, humiliation, discrimination and all sorts of brutalities the sick zionest minds have come up with. Just like Germany, which is still paying Israel for things that the Nazis had supposedly done. Ironically, Israel is doing the same to the Palestinians, but in a more refined way.
Saying that Israel objects to Palestinian statehood for fear of the ICC is the worst simplification ever. Israel opposes Palestinian statehood because they are psychopaths hell bent on the complete theft of the Palestinian land and the annihilation of the Palestinians. And when they're done with them, they'll start with Lebanon. And then Jordan. And Syria. And Egypt. Israel is like gangrene, if the body part affected by it is not amputated immediately, it will spread to the rest of the body and kill it.
you mean they share the same ” DEMON” cratic values. If Israhell is a democracy than every Banana republic is a Demokratic paradise. As for America, a government that donates billions to Israel and fights their wars for them instead of taking care of their own American citizens. The same citizens who voted this government into office. The US sponsors dictators in other countries and later invades these very countries under the pretex of bringing them democracy. Is this the Sprit of Democracy?
My country, America, is completely brain washed on this issue. What is and has been done by Israel to the Palestinians is against every purported value our country holds, and just as importantly represents a massive strategic liability to us. But not a single *objective* news segment on this issue will appear in any major outlet, let alone an Op-Ed in favor of the Palestinian case which based on facts alone would be a "no-brainer" based on our purported values. Why? That is the biggest question of all. I'm not a fan of conspiracy theory, but if there ever was a valid one it would have to be about the overwhelming bias of all U.S. News organizations in favor of Israel at all times. And to this I ask why? Is Zionist Jewish power over the media really that strong? Over our elected politicians? It is in fact the biggest cover-up story in the world today… but it is only us Americans who are still in the dark, and I don't see the curtain ever being pulled.
a worldwide movement to expand the realm of freedom, dignity and Justice for us ALL
http://www.bdsmovement.net