Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, opened preliminary inquiries into possible Israeli war crimes in Palestinian territories on Friday, The New York Times reports.
The investigation comes just a few weeks after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas took steps to join the ICC — a move that was decried by both the U.S. and Israel as unilateral and combative in nature. Bensouda and her team will investigate whether Israel's actions during last summer's 50-day Gaza fighting qualify as war crimes, as the Palestinians assert. The inquiry could take years, and Bensouda described the examination in a Friday statement as required procedure. And, the team could charge Palestinians for similar war crimes against Israel.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlandsThe Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
-
5 deliciously funny cartoons about turkeysCartoons Artists take on pardons, executions, and more
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jailSpeed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
-
China tries to bury deadly car attackSpeed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor planSpeed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimesSpeed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
