European parliament committee calls for Israel ICC war crimes prosecution

The European parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday recommended that the EU work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israel for war crimes.

MEPs voted in favour of the recommendation, spearheaded by Swedish Social Democrat MEP Evin Incir, with 41 votes for and 21 against, with 9 abstentions.

The resolution said that the committee "regret[s] the limited progress on the ICC infestations in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the occupied Palestinian territories and commit to help the ICC and its prosecutor move forward with the investigation and the prosecution".

MEPs expressed concern about illegal Israeli settlements obstructing peace efforts, urging the body to "consider targeted EU measures specifically addressing settlement expansion in the West Bank" and called for the release of political prisoners held by Israel.

It also slammed Israel's use of "punitive measures" against Palestinians over their petitioning of international legal forums, including by withholding funds and limiting construction in the West Bank.

More than three million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, and have endured decades of military rule that rights groups say amounts to apartheid.

Israel has also kept Gaza, which is run by Islamist group Hamas, under a crippling blockade since 2007. The Israeli military has carried out crushing airstrikes on the besieged enclave, killing thousands, which rights groups have described as the "world's largest open-air prison".