House demolitions in East Jerusalem: prospects for accountability

A number of practices have been employed and continue to be utilised by Israeli occupation authorities to forcefully displace Palestinians from East Jerusalem since 1967. One of these practices is house demolitions, which could be considered a war crime within the framework of two prohibited acts. The State of Palestine has acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 1 January 2015, granting the Court retroactive jurisdiction to 13 June 2014. Consequently, a preliminary examination was opened following the lodging of the declaration, examining whether there is reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court –genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes- have been committed within the geographic and temporal jurisdiction. This paper examines whether parts of the two war crimes codified into Article 8(2)(a)(iv) “Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” and Article 8(2)(a)(vii) “Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement” have been or are being committed in East Jerusalem. The paper analyses the elements of each of the two crimes as drafted by the Court, and suggests that through house demolitions there is reasonable basis to believe that the two crimes are being committed. Thereby, the opening of an investigation is contingent on an examination of admissibility and interests of justice.