(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) Amman, Feb 9 (Petra) –– The Royal Commission for Jerusalem Affairs Tuesday welcomed an International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling that it has jurisdiction over the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, which underlined the legitimacy of international resolutions.
The committee reaffirmed that Jordan and its Hashemite leadership, the historical custodian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, will remain the defender of Palestinian rights and the establishment of their state on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Based on legal and ethical principles and efforts to achieve global security and peace in accordance with the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court had issued a decision stipulating its jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, which it defined as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, Commission Secretary General Abdullah Kanaan pointed out.
He told Petra in an interview that the accession of the State of Palestine to the statute of the court came into effect in April 2015, allowing it to take legal action against Israeli crimes retroactively for the long decades of occupation and brutality.
The ICC ruling could lead to the arrest and criminal investigations of Israeli political and military leaders accused on war crimes and genocide against unarmed Palestinian civilians, Kanaan noted, adding that "this important decision" will in the future enable the trial of Israel for the crimes of settlement, Judaization and attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites, including the ongoing storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and an attempt to burn down the Roman Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.
"All of these are heinous crimes that target the human, the land and holy sites and undermine the Arab civilization and identity that is rooted in Palestine and Jerusalem," he said.
Kanaan commended the Palestinian government's diplomacy for this "important judicial success", which is backed by Jordan, and which underlined the numerous international legitimacy resolutions, including UN resolution 242 of 1967, which called on Israel (the occupying power) to withdraw from the occupied lands, and resolution 2334 of 2016, which demanded Israel to halt settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
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09/02/2021 15:08:31
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