JERUSALEM – Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks.
But for many Israelis, Friday’s ruling is worrying because they say they are the “good guys” defending themselves against Palestinian violence.
The ruling could lead to criminal investigations of Israel and Palestinian militant groups.
For Palestinian Tawfiq Abu Jama the ICC decision was a “possible justice that came late and better than never” after 24 members of his extended family were killed in an Israeli air strike during the conflict in 2014.
Israeli Gadi Yarkoni, who lost both his legs in a Palestinian mortar bomb attack during the same war, was angered by the ruling.
“We are the good guys here, we don’t fire in order to kill innocent children but they fire at us in order to kill civilians. I weep for every civilian killed in Gaza and the West Bank but we are defending our borders,” said Yarkoni.(Reuters)
