On January 2, 2015, the State of Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and, on April 1, 2015, Palestine became the 123rd Member State of the ICC. Palestine granted the ICC jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014. The Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, opened a preliminary examination into crimes committed in Palestine on January 16, 2015, and the State of Palestine referred the situation for investigation on May 15, 2018. Over the course of the preliminary examination, Palestinian human rights organizations and victims made submissions in which they set forth war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli officials, including in relation to the 2014 military offensive on Gaza, in the context of the Great March of Return, and as a result of the settlement enterprise and persecution resulting from the ongoing siege of Gaza. On December 20, 2019, the Prosecutor concluded that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Palestine – the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – and asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to confirm the scope of the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. The Pre-Trial Chamber invited victims to submit observations on the Prosecutor's request, and Center for Consitutional Rights attorney Katherine Gallagher made a submission on behalf of twenty Palestinian victims of persecution from all parts of Palestine and the diaspora. On April 29, 2020, the Center for Constitutional Rights joined more than 180 Palestinian, regional, and international human rights organizations in signing an open letter to the ICC Prosecutor expressing support for the opening of an investigation without delay.

 

For other cases seeking to hold Israeli officials accountable for serious violations of international law or corporations complicit in human rights violations in Palestine, see Matar v. Dichter; Belhas v. Ya'alon; Corrie et al v. Caterpillar; and Doğan v. Barak. For other Center for Consitutional Rights cases seeking accountability for crimes against humanity or war crimes at the ICC, see Accountability for International Crimes in Afghanistan and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) re: High-Level Vatican Officials.