European Parliament committee calls to prosecute Israel for war crimes
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament hopes to get the plenum to approve a resolution encouraging the International Court to charge Israel with war crimes.
PARIS — The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP) on Tuesday called on EU leadership to assist the International Criminal Court in The Hague in probing and prosecuting Israel over alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories.
Forty-one members of the committee voted in favor of the resolution draft, put forward by the committee’s rapporteur, Evin Incir of the Swedish Social Democrats party. Twenty-four parliamentarians opposed it and nine abstained.
The resolution of the committee, expected to be voted on at the EP plenum on July 15, refers to a December 2022 resolution by the United Nations, initiated by the Palestinians, requesting the International Court formulate an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. It is unclear, however, if the sponsors have majority to pass it, and next steps if it passes.
A month before the resolution was adopted, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned that bringing the matter to the International Court would "only play into the hands of extremists."
