News item: Israeli settlements are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention which forbids transfer of civilian population into occupied territory. Anything new? No, this is what the world knows for decades; it was just reiterated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHRC) appointed fact finding mission on Israeli settlements. However, the UNHRC report goes beyond the usual condemnation of Israel – it asks other nations, agencies and companies to break ties with settlement project. Most importantly the report concludes that a Rome statute establishes the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over the transfer of population in the occupied Palestine Territory. In my opinion, the ball is now in the Palestinians court. They should not expect the United States, European Union or the Quartet to take the Israelis to the ICC on criminal charges. Only the Palestinians can decide the way forward provided they are ready to face the expected punitive reaction from Israel. It's a clear-cut case for ICC. On the eve of the Oslo Agreement in 1993 there were around 200,000 settlers in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Now half a million settlers are living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem alone. There are 127 settlements in the West Bank with dozens of Jewish outposts which are being changed into settlements at their convenience and at regular intervals. Shall we expect a show of unity and courage on the part of Palestinians to sue the Israelis who are responsible for what the UN report calls as "creeping annexation?" We congratulate the UNHRC fact find mission, which also includes Pakistan' human rights activists Asma Jahangir, for its forceful report. The world is waiting for the Palestinians to take their destiny into their own hands. Masood Khan, Jubail
