The Palestinian Authority completed its journey to formal membership of international criminal court on Wednesday following a low-key ceremony at the Hague headquarters of the global institution of last resort.
The move could open the way for Israelis to be prosecuted for war crimes - despite Israel not being a member - and it also allows the prosecution of Palestinian militants, including those from Hamas, who now fall under the court’s jurisdiction.
International justice activists hailed the occasion as an opportunity to bring accountability after years of conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, but Palestinians backed away from earlier threats to introduce a raft of complaints on formally becoming the court’s 123rd member.
Instead they will wait for the outcome of a preliminary investigation launched by the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, initiated when the Palestinian Authority acceded to the court’s governing Rome statute 90 days ago.
The decision not to press ahead immediately with cases has been seen by observers as a way of avoiding an immediate conflict with the US Congress, which has the authority to freeze US aid to the Palestinian Authority should it pursue its own cases.
Commenting after the ceremony, the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said: “Today is a historic day in the struggle for justice, freedom and peace for our people and all those seeking justice worldwide.
“Today marks the official membership of the State of Palestine to the international criminal court, reflecting Palestine’s commitment to justice, international law and human rights.
“Our determination to protect our people against the injustice of those responsible for war crimes is underscored by our nation’s accession to the Rome statute and submission to the ICC’s jurisdiction.”
Joining the court is part of a broader effort by the Palestinians to put international pressure on Israel, and comes at a time when the chances of resuming negotiations on Palestinian statehood are seen as slim following the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent election victory and tough campaign rhetoric.
Following accession to the Rome statute, Israel punished the Palestinian Authority by refusing to hand over tax monies it collects on the Palestinians’ behalf and which are used, in large part, to pay government salaries including those of the Palestinian security forces.
After Netanyahu won elections last month, however, and amid warnings from the Israeli military that the Palestinian Authority could collapse, he agreed to hand over the tax revenues.
Israel is not a member of the ICC, but the country’s military and civilian leaders could now face charges if they are believed to have committed crimes on Palestinian territory.
Bensouda was not at the behind-closed-doors welcoming ceremony attended by the Palestinian foreign minister, Riad Malki, as she was out of the country.
The decision by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to essentially subcontract the decision whether to launch a prosecutions to the Bensouda was designed to avoid an immediate crisis over the Palestinian’s court membership, allowing them to provide evidence in response to requests from the prosecutor’s office without initiating their own cases.
That process, however, is likely to be long-winded, with the prosecution spokeswoman Florence Olara saying there were “no timelines” for how long a preliminary examination can take. Some have taken months, others have continued after years.
The review, however, will likely focus initially on last year’s Gaza conflict, when Palestinians suffered heavy civilian casualties, prompting allegations by some rights groups that Israel committed war crimes.
Leaders of Hamas, which rules Gaza, could also face charges because the militant group fired rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilian areas.
The decision by the Palestinians not to introduce their own cases also comes as French diplomats indicated that Paris was preparing a new draft UN security council resolution on the Middle East peace process that would reportedly define the pre-1967 frontier as a reference point for border talks, designate Jerusalem as capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state and call for a fair solution for Palestinian refugees.
A previous effort to secure a security council resolution late last year fell when it failed to acquire a sufficient majority and amid threats of a US veto. Since then, however, the make up of the non-permanent membership of the council has changed to a group of countries viewed as being more amenable to the Palestinians.
Following Netanyahu’s re-election on a promise not to allow the creation of a Palestinian state on his watch - remarks he later attempted to retract - there has been speculation that the US might be less inclined to block a resolution in the absence of peace negotiations.
The ICC could also look at the issue of Israeli settlement building, considered illegal by much of the world. Since 1967, Israel has moved more than 550,000 of its civilians to occupied land. Prosecutors in The Hague, however, do not have jurisdiction over events that happened before the Palestinians joined the court.
William R Pace, the convenor of the coalition for the ICC, which supports and promotes the court’s work, said Palestinian membership “gives hope to victims in both Palestine and Israel that they might see justice done and the conflict brought to a peaceful end”.