Amnesty Urges ICC Probe Of Possible Gaza War Crimes

Image copyright: AP [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

  • On Tuesday, Amnesty International called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into possible war crimes committed by both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants during deadly three-day fighting in Gaza in August.

  • This comes as the organization presented a new report focusing on three specific attacks that it says killed 13 Palestinian civilians amid what it detailed as Israel's "pre-emptive" military offensive against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, starting on Aug. 5.


The Spin

Pro-Palestine narrative

These unlawful attacks come as a consequence of continuous Israeli violence and oppression against the population of Gaza, which has been besieged for years. However, the ICC must investigate not only war crimes in Gaza but also the crime against humanity of apartheid occurring in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in general.

Pro-Israel narrative

While Amnesty International has finally deemed an attack by a Palestinian terror group a war crime, accusing Israel at an unparalleled level reveals that the organization isn't acting impartially. Aside from its fixation with Israel, Amnesty also seems to have double standards; it seriously criticizes Ukraine for failing to protect its citizens but virtually ignores Palestine for the same violations.


Metaculus Prediction


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO