Israel will not sign a treaty this month to establish an international war crimes court, reported Haaretz newspaper, saying that the Jewish state fears that if it joins the court, Arab countries will try to have Israeli officers indicted for actions taken during the Intifada.
"The IDF therefore opposes signing as long as Israel is in a state of war," Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein told the paper.
The paper said that the decision was taken by Prime Minister Ehud Barak Sunday during a cabinet meeting.
Barak will bring the decision to the cabinet for approval next week, said the paper.
Israel will still be able to join the court any time during the next two years, but it will now have to ratify as well as sign the treaty, and to amend its own laws accordingly. Until the end of this month, countries were allowed to sign without ratifying, said the paper.
Rubinstein said that while Israel attaches great moral importance to the establishment of the court, the treaty defines the settlements as a war crime. Therefore, if Israel were to sign the treaty, it would effectively be accepting this formulation, when its goal instead is to change it.
In the meantime, Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, in contrast, both advocated signing, said Haaretz.
Beilin argued that signing without ratifying would have no practical consequences; it would merely express Israel's support in principle for such a court.
Barak acknowledged that there would be some advantages to signing from the perspective of international relations, but warned that it would also have moral and practical consequences, added the paper.
Furthermore, he said, the issue is inextricably linked to the progress of the peace process.
Barak noted that the United States has also refused to sign - like Israel, due to fear of legal persecution of its officers and soldiers, according to Haaretz -- Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
