Ex-PM Olmert calls for ICC intervention against settler violence

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert urges the International Criminal Court to intervene against settler violence in the West Bank due to what he says has been the failure of Israeli authorities to crack down on the daily phenomenon.

“I have decided not only to not remain silent, but to draw the attention of the ICC in The Hague so that it may take enforcement measures and issue arrest warrants,'” Olmert says in a statement to the Guardian.

The former premier, who has long been critical of the policies of successive governments headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urges The Hague to prosecute violent settlers who are “assisted, supported and inspired by government circles” as they seek to clear Palestinians from areas in the West Bank with attacks reminiscent of those “once directed against Jews in Europe.”

 “If law enforcement authorities in Israel do not fulfill their duty, perhaps international legal authorities will do what is necessary to save the Palestinians and us from the criminal acts being committed by Jewish terrorists right in front of all our eyes,” Olmert says.

While Olmert urges ICC intervention only in cases of Israeli civilian violence, he laments that “too many” attacks on Palestinians have been committed by Israeli soldiers.