MK Bezalel Samotrich (Jewish Home) on Wednesday demanded the Israeli government take action against the International Criminal Court. "In recent months, Israel largely paralyzed itself in Judea and Samaria due to concern over the Court's decision," Smotrich said. "It's good that we're finally moving from defense to offense. It's time to fight back and expose the court's hypocrisy." "In the Trump era, this may even close it down, and that's an opportunity we cannot miss." Smotrich's demand follows a complaint lodged by Israel with the ICC after after a panel of judges handling a Palestinian Authority (PA) complaint against Israel appealed to "victims of the situation in Palestine." In July, the (PA) protested the fact that an investigation against Israel's "occupation" had not yet begun, and claimed the planned evacuation of an illegal Bedouin village is the "expulsion" of "innocent civilians." Israel is not a member of the ICC and is not subject to its rulings. The PA officially joined the ICC on April 1, 2015, and immediately filed a series of legal complaints with the court. In addition to claiming that Israel committed war crimes during the 2014 Gaza war, it also claimed that Israeli "settlements" are "an ongoing war crime." The PA has had standing at the court since the UN General Assembly recognized the "state of Palestine" as a non-member observer in 2012.
