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LettersEnd Israel-Palestine conflict through diplomacy
- The world has to unite in condemning any form of atrocity committed in any part of the world, including those that have taken place within the Palestinian territories
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The brutality and crimes committed against civilians in Palestine and Israel have gone on for quite some time as both political entities claim the same territories. Palestine and major Muslim states have not recognised Israel as a state. However, Israel has been admitted as a member state of the United Nations since 1949.
On the other hand, Palestine was admitted as a non-member observer state to the United Nations through Resolution 67/19 on December 4, 2012. This is a recognition that the world, through the UN, sees Palestine as a sovereign state even though it has yet to become a full state member of the UN.
In addition, Palestine could still be seen as a sovereign state. It meets the requirements of statehood as prescribed in the Montevideo Convention of 1933 – possessing territories, a working government, population and being capable of entering into relations with other political entities.
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On February 5, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, made a decision regarding what is happening in Palestine. The ICC held that it had jurisdiction to hear cases relating to war crimes committed within the territories of Palestine.
Based on the same decision, the ICC declared that the territories of Palestine included territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Therefore, the recent attacks and brutality alleged to have taken place within Palestinian territories will be subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC.
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However, the question remains – who will arrest and surrender the alleged perpetrators to the ICC? The world has to unite in condemning any form of atrocity committed in any part of the world, including those that have taken place within the Palestinian territories. Lessons have to be learned from the brutal past of the holocaust in World War II for nations to coexist in peace.
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