The International Criminal Court in The Hague on Friday went on its summer recess without making a decision on whether the Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has the authority to open an investigation into war crimes against the State of Israel and determine the territorial boundaries within which the investigation will take place.
Ynet reported that Israel had been making preparations for the possibility that the Court's pre-trial panel would publish its decision before the start of the recess.
Bensouda announced this past December that she intends to open a full investigation into alleged Israeli “war crimes”, but before opening a full probe, asked the ICC to rule on the territory over which it has jurisdiction because of the "unique and highly contested legal and factual issues attaching to this situation."
She subsequently ruled that “Palestine” is a state and the ICC has jurisdiction involving its cases.
Bensouda’s announcement was criticized in Israel and also by countries such as Australia and Hungary. Germany, meanwhile, backed Israel's argument that the court's jurisdiction does not extend to Palestinian Authority-assigned areas, as “Palestine” is not a state that fulfills all the criteria under general international law.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)