In a ruling today, the ICC has decided not only that Palestine is a state, but that they have jurisdiction to investigate Israel over war crimes that may have happened in the Gaza War of 2014.

In a major decision released Friday, a pretrial chamber of the International Criminal Court determined that The Hague has jurisdiction to open criminal probes against Israel and the Palestinians for war crimes alleged to have taken place in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to rebuke the international body:

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the ruling: “Today the ICC proved once again that it is a political body and not a judicial institution,” he said. “The ICC ignores the real war crimes and instead pursues the State of Israel, a state with a strong democratic government that sanctifies the rule of law, and is not a member of the ICC.

Special attention should be paid to the last line of that statement. Israel does not recognize the ICC as an authority.  The Palestinians weren’t members of the court until they joined in 2014 just so they could take a swipe at Israel. Joining also had the added benefit of having Palestine recognized as a state by an international body. Abbas may not be completely pleased by this decision however, because the court said that there may have been war crimes committed by both sides.

To Israel this is just more international pressure.  They have been the target of the UN Security Council for years. The ICC is just piling on.

The ICC has in the past targeted both the US and Israel. Its proclamations are really just fodder for other countries to use in the press. They have no authority against countries that are not signatories. The US under Trump has even placed sanctions on members of the ICC.  President Biden is of course reviewing them.