Taking the Settlements to the ICC? Substantive Issues
111 AJIL Unbound 57-61 (2017)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem International Law Forum Working Paper No. 04-17
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Legal Research Paper No. 17-28
7 Pages Posted: 16 May 2017 Last revised: 14 Jun 2017
Date Written: May 14, 2017
Abstract
This article tenders some observations on the application of ICC Statute Article 8(2)(b)(viii) (specifically addressing the crime of transfer by the occupying power of part of its of civilian population to occupied territory) to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The analysis emphasizes the systemic nature of the transfer of population, both as the normative essence of the crime, and as a factual characteristic of Israeli policy. The article addresses the idiosyncratic character of the criminal prohibition of transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory; the normative status of the prohibition in ICC Statute Article 8(2)(b)(viii) and its applicability to Israeli nationals; the meaning of “transfer” and the significance of mens rea defenses in the context of the Israeli settlements project.
Keywords: Israel, Palestine, settlements, ICC Statute, occupation, transfer of civilian population, Article 8(2)(b)(viii)
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