The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested clarifications from the Palestinian Authority regarding its decision to end all agreements with Israel in light of the latter’s decision to annex a large part of the occupied Palestinian territory, according to a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official.
Omar Awadallah, head of Department of UN and Specialized Agencies in the Palestinian territories, confirmed that the Ministry has received a request from the ICC regarding President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement to absolve Palestine of all agreements with Israel, on May 19.
My latest: What You Need to Know about the #ICC Investigation of War Crimes in Occupied #Palestine https://t.co/xvclWIZZDe via @PalestineChron
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) May 12, 2020
Awadallah told WAFA that despite the President’s decision, the legal jurisdiction of the ICC in Palestine will not change.
The Court asked Palestine to “provide additional information on this matter, including with regard to the Oslo agreements between Palestine and Israel,” said Awadallah, noting that “the Court will shoulder its responsibilities as the party investigating the crimes in Palestine, and that the declaration will not affect Palestine’s status on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, along with the subsequent recognition by the countries of the world and the change of its status to an observer member in the United Nations in 2012.”
#ICC Prosecutor Delivers a Blow to #Israel’s Lobbying Efforts, Declares #Jurisdiction over State of #Palestine https://t.co/wkvRytiOOJ via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/LXtqwST3ES
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) May 11, 2020
He stressed that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, international legal actors have the right to either absolve themselves from agreements or end them.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bendouda reiterated on April 30 that Palestine is a state, and therefore the ICC has legal jurisdiction to rule on alleged war crimes committed there.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
The post ICC Asks Palestine Clarifications over Abolishing All Agreements with Israel appeared first on Palestine Chronicle.