Lebanon hails ICC inquiry into Gaza war
Foreign ministry says it hopes decision will lead to 'prosecution of Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip'.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry joined Hamas in welcoming the International Criminal Court's decision to open a preliminary probe into possible war crimes in Palestinian territories, the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star reported on Saturday.
In a statement cited by the paper, the foreign ministry said that it hoped the decision would lead to "the prosecution of Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."
ICC prosecutors said on Friday the preliminary examination would scrutinize "in full independence and impartiality" crimes that may have occurred since June 13 last year, opening a path to possible charges against Israelis or Palestinians.
On Saturday, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip, said on Saturday the Islamist group appreciated the move.
"What is needed now is to quickly take practical steps in this direction and we are ready to provide (the court) with thousands of reports and documents that confirm the Zionist enemy has committed horrible crimes against Gaza and against our people," he said in a statement.
Israel rejected the court's Friday decision as hypocrisy and the US State Department said it was "a tragic irony that Israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinized by the ICC".
The June 13 date would allow the court to look at the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza in July-August 2014 during which more than 2,100 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed.
Prosecutors will assess evidence of alleged crimes and determine if they are of sufficient gravity and scale to warrant charges against individuals on either side.
Israel in 2005 pulled its settlers and troops out of Gaza, which remains under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade. Palestinians seek statehood in Gaza and the West Bank.
