Thursday, January 31, 2013

UN: Israel Must Oust All Settlers from West Bank; Failure to Do So Can Lead to War Crimes ICC Trial

United Nations human rights investigators in Geneva called on Israel today (January 31, 2013) to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all half a million Jewish settlers from the occupied West Bank, saying that its practices could be subject to prosecution as war crimes, according to the Reuters website.

A three-member U.N. panel said private companies should stop working in the settlements, since their work adversely affects the human rights of Palestinians, and urged member states to ensure companies respect human rights.

"Israel must cease settlement activities and provide adequate, prompt and effective remedy to the victims of violations of human rights," Christine Chanet -- a French judge who led the U.N. inquiry -- told a news conference today.

The settlements contravened the Fourth Geneva Convention forbidding the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory and could amount to war crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the United Nations report said.

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