
Lia Tarachansky speaks to Fatou Bensouda, the Deputy Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court
(ICC) about the Palestinian Authority’s appeal to join the group of nations
over which the court has
jurisdiction. Bensouda says that before the ICC can investigate the
perpetration of war crimes during
Israel’s recent attack on Gaza, the court would have to rule on whether it
has jurisdiction in the
Palestinian Territories. For that, there would have to be clear borders
identified, a task the UN would
have to take on. Once the court rules on jurisdiction it would be able to
prosecute anyone who
committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide within the
territory, even if (such as in the
case of Israel) the perpetrator is not part of the International Court.