Ha'aretz Diplomatic Correspondent Tuesday, June 13, 2000- Israel is considering signing an international agreement to establish a war crimes court, but has no intention of ratifying the agreement since settlements in the territories are considered "war crimes" under the court's constitution. In a meeting held last week at the Foreign Ministry, the ministry's legal adviser, Attorney Alan Baker, recommended that Israel sign the agreement before December of this year, so that it can be considered a "founding member" of the international court and support the basic principles upon which the court will be founded, without being brought under the court's jurisdiction. Israel will thus be able to improve its international reputation, without running a real risk of interference in its policies. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin believes that Israel should play a part in the new international court and asked foreign officials to find a solution that would allow this. The New York conference currently busy drawing up the court's documents and agreements, is not, however, holding any discussion on amending the "settlements article" The possibility of establishing an international war crimes court arose recently in light of the massacres in Rwanda and Bosnia and the prevalent feeling among members of the international community that a permanent court was needed to deal with such crimes, rather than an ad-hoc one.
The section which lists "transferring a population to an occupied territory" as a war crime was added two years ago prior to the Rome Conference. A Foreign Ministry source says that "it was clear that this meant us and the wording adopted effectively turns those who fund the settlements or provide services to settlers as war criminals." Israel thus voted against the constitution at the conference, along with Libya and China. http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=06/13/00&id=81423