Bar association working with regional counterparts to sue Israel for war crimes

AMMAN — The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) has joined an Arab endeavour seeking to try Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of committing war crimes.

JBA member Ashraf Zu'bi said on Wednesday that it is going to be a "sole judicial pan-Arab endeavour" led by the Arab Lawyers Union (ALU) with no political implications.

The initiative entails gathering evidence on Israel's involvement in war crimes committed during the aggression on unarmed civilians in Gaza, who constitute the majority of the over 1,800 Palestinians killed in nearly a month of attacks.

The JBA has been authorised by the Professional Associations Council to join the ALU-led process, which will be carried out by the bar associations of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen under the umbrella of the union.

Zu'bi added that the move was adopted during an ALU meeting in Cairo last week called for by Egypt's bar association. Attendees agreed on a set of preliminary procedures to gather evidence to prove that "horrific war crimes have been committed by the Israeli army in Gaza.”

"An ALU delegation will visit the ICC soon to arrange for starting criminal proceedings against Israel," he said in a telephone interview with The Jordan Times.

Asked whether such a case can be built, especially since Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, Zu'bi, said the case can be examined by specialised international courts other than the ICC.

Since Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC cannot consider cases against it unless another signatory state opens the case, or the case is referred directly by the UN Security Council.

Zu'bi, who was authorised by the JBA president to follow up on the issue,  added that the Palestinian Authority's recent decision to join the Rome Statute can help build a war crimes case against Israel at the international court.

Following its meeting last week, ALU issued a statement calling for putting Israel's government — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon — on trial for war crimes in Gaza.

ALU also stressed the need to abide by the 1949 Geneva Convention concerning the protection of civilians in times of war.

The pan-Arab body called on the UN and the international community to create a fact-finding committee to investigate the crimes committed against Gazans, document them and take the necessary measures against war criminals.