Pushes among human rights lawyers for the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague to open up a probe into war crimes during the latest Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip have not netted any public comments, as the court is said to be under intense pressure from the US and Israel not to investigate anything.
The ICC has ducked previous pushes for an investigation with claims of uncertain jurisdiction in the occupied territories, though most agree this is simply a pretext to avoid the “political consequences” of a probe the US opposes.
The UN Human Rights Agency has announced a probe of its own, which was immediately and loudly condemned by Israel, and the Israeli government has also banned Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch from Gaza to prevent any private probes.
The two human rights groups promised to continue to do everything they can to investigate the war crimes in Gaza, though the Israeli ban aims to both block direct investigation and to taint any reports released, with the argument that the agencies didn’t have anyone on the ground to verify reports.