In victory for Israel, International Criminal Court says call for 'Palestinian victims' not binding

"In response to Israel's objections, the management of the International Criminal Court in The Hague has taken a step back from its unprecedented anti-Israel decision a month ago to actively seek out Palestinian victims of alleged Israeli war crimes.

In a press release issued in July, three ICC judges ‎‎– Peter Kovacs, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, and ‎Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou – urged alleged ‎victims to step forward by Dec. 14.‎

The three judges, members of the ‎pretrial chamber dealing with Palestinian allegations of Israeli war crimes, ordered the ICC's ‎Registry 'to establish, as soon as practicable, a ‎system of public information and outreach activities ‎for the benefit of the victims and affected ‎communities in the situation in Palestine.' ‎

Israel voiced strong objections to the one-sided initiative.

In response to an Israel Hayom inquiry, the court confirmed in a statement Sunday that...Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was not in any way bound by the decision.

'The above-referenced decision does not reflect any prejudgment on the independent decision that will be taken by the ICC prosecutor when she concludes her preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine,' the statement said.

It also said, 'The court, as a judicial institution, cannot comment on the decision of its judges.'

The statement appears to indicate that the court has realized that Israel will not sit idly by and allow it to act on one-sided decisions against it..."