A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at The Hague has announced he intends to consider petitions by Arab groups charging Israel with war crimes in response to the counterterrorism Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
According to a report published Monday in the London Times, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he is in the midst of investigating claims by Palestinian Authority Arab groups that Israel committed the crimes. This, he said, does not relate to the issue of Israel's guilt or innocence, but rather is more focused on whether in fact the court has any jurisdiction over the case.
"It is the territorial state that has to make a reference to the court," Moreno-Ocampo was quoted as saying. "They [the petitioners] are making an argument that the Palestinian Authority is, in reality, that state. They are quoting jurisprudence. It's very complicated. It's a different kind of analysis I am doing."
The prosecutor would not commit himself to saying how long such an analysis might take. "It may take a long time," he said, "but I will make a decision according to law."
Spain, meanwhile, has allegedly agreed to change its legislation in order to try and prevent international forces – such as the PA – from manipulating its court system unjustly in the future, according to a statement issued late last week by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
The move came in the wake of charges filed in a Madrid court against past and present senior IDF officials accusing them of "war crimes" in the assassination of senior Hamas terrorist Salah Shehadeh in 2002.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert referred on Sunday to the issue of international court action against Israeli officials during the weekly Cabinet meeting.
"Many countries which allowed themselves to hit at civilians in order to remove what they deemed to be a threat, today preach morality to us, and a willingness to cooperate with a terrorist organization that took control of a population and intentionally operates from within it," he noted.
"This is both unjust and immoral and we will fully back every Israeli citizen, and certainly security personnel who acted on behalf of the State if someone tries to cast aspersions on them and take legal steps against them," he added.