The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) raised concerns Sunday that Israel may have committed war crimes during a current flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement Fatou Bensouda’s office expressed “grave concern” over the shootings of Palestinians by Israeli troops during mass protests along Gaza’s border with Israel.
Her office said that Israel’s “violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza” may constitute war crimes.
Bensouda is already in the midst of a “preliminary examination” of possible war crimes launched in the wake of a 2014 offensive by the Israeli occupation forces on the besieged costal enclave of Gaza.
“While a preliminary examination is not an investigation any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my office’s scrutiny” she said. “This applies to the events of the past weeks and to any future incident.”
At least 32 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire as they took part in mass-protests along Gaza’s borders.
Witness accounts and amateur videos have shown the demonstrators appeared to be unarmed or far from the fence when they were shot. The European Union and United Nations have called for an independent investigation into the killings.
