Achieving something big needs a big first step, and the Palestinians have done just that, handing to the International Criminal Court their file detailing what they hope the ICC will rule as Israeli war crimes and dispense the consequent punishment. The Palestinians hope that the file they have given the ICC contains enough evidence to merit opening a full-scale investigation that could ultimately lead to charges against Israel. It is not clear how long the process will take. This is to be expected because the Israelis have done more than enough damage to keep the ICC busy for years on end. From illegal Jewish settlements to crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners to last year's assault on Gaza, all of which is included in the Palestinian file, the decades-old Israeli occupation could fill libraries. The Palestinian move to the ICC has its detractors. The US said the effort was counterproductive and would be opposed by Washington. But the US should be the last party in the world to complain that the Palestinians went to the ICC. They did so for recourse on changing the status quo, something the US could not do. The US-sponsored peace negotiations ground to a halt in April last year capping decades of failed US peace ventures. It was soon after the latest unsuccessful attempt that the Palestinians began applying for membership at several international organizations, most recently the ICC, as part of an increased focus on diplomatic maneuvering and appeals to international bodies. And Israel naturally decried the Palestinian venture into the ICC with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shouting that Israel does not commit war crimes. Let the ICC be the judge of that. The report issued last week by the UN's Human Rights Council, which undertook a separate investigation which is being used by the ICC, covers 183 pages, much of it Israeli violations during the Gaza war. It criticized the Israeli military for razing neighborhoods in Gaza with disproportionate fire; targeting civilian homes in strikes that led to multiple deaths; and not taking enough care to avoid civilian casualties after warnings of hostilities had been issued. It's true that the report criticized both Israel and Hamas, but it especially came down hard on the “huge firepower” Israel had used in Gaza, with more than 6,000 airstrikes and 50,000 artillery shells fired during the 51-day operation. The bombings of residential buildings had especially dire consequences, wiping out entire families, with 551 children killed, many in their own homes, a fact that choked up the council's chair. In all, 742 Palestinian civilians were killed in attacks on residential buildings with at least 142 families losing three or more members. Compare Israel's murderous rampage to what Hamas fighters were able to do in the war – according to the UN report the aim of the “indiscriminate” firing of thousands of rockets and mortar rounds at Israel was to “spread terror” among Israeli civilians. If the best Hamas could do was spread terror, that would be mild as opposed to what Israel did. The fact that Israel did not revise its practice of air strikes, the UN said, even after their dire effects on civilians became apparent, raises questions of whether this was part of a broader policy which was at least tacitly approved at the highest level of government. The report thus lays the Gaza onslaught right on the doorstep of Netanyahu who pleads innocence. Tell that to the judge.
