The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a comprehensive investigation into Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank.
In a press statement on Wednesday, the Ministry stressed that the ICC shall show the required and appropriate attention to this crime, especially as its falls within the jurisdiction of the court and its systems, including its founding Rome Statute.
It also denounced the “continuous demolitions of Palestinian homes and installations throughout the occupied land, the latest of which was the brutal demolition and extermination of the Ain Hajla Bedouin community, eastern Jericho, displacing eight Palestinian families.”
It pointed to the escalation taking place in East Jerusalem to deport citizens and force them to leave their lands for settlers, stressing that it is an integral part of an ongoing process of ethnic cleansing by the occupying power.
The Ministry held the Israeli government “fully responsible for this crime and its critical repercussions,” calling on the international community to break its silence and assume its legal and moral responsibilities imposed by the international law to provide international protection to the Palestinians.
The Ministry reiterated that the full US bias towards the occupation, its colonial plans and projects encourages the occupying power to continue with its house demolitions and the displacement of Palestinian citizens.
