Feature: Palestinians join ICC amid hopes and fears

The Palestinian Authority joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 1, raising hopes and fears among Palestinians about the future of this step.

The move is considered a milestone in the Palestinian efforts to take their cause to the international arena after two decades of fruitless negotiations. However, local observers warn from too much optimism.

Othman Mansour, farmer from the West Bank village of Bil'in, doesn't expect much change on the ground. He says joining the ICC will only have a political significance.

Mansour's family has lands that have been confiscated by Israel since 2001. Although Mansour has the title deeds of the lands, an Israeli settlement lies on his territories. After 14 years and several cases in the Israeli courts, Israeli settlements still expand on his confiscated lands.

"We filed a law suit in the Israeli high court and the court said that settlement built on our lands is illegal. However, since the settlement was built, the court ruled it can stay and that we can regain other lands," Mansour told Xinhua as he pointed to the settlement.

As he sat in a small cement room built on the lands restored from the Israelis, he said that Israel behaves as a country outside the international law. He also accused the world of not helping the Palestinians living under the occupation.

Sounds of the construction works continue in the Israeli settlement built on Mansour's lands in the village, which is home for over 1,000 inhabitants who suffer land confiscation and a separation wall was built on their lands.

According to the Palestinian application submitted in 2014, the ICC will start investigating the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and last year's military operation in Gaza.

The Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) decision to join the ICC led Israel to withhold tax revenues it collected on behalf of the Palestinians for three months.

However, nearly 70 percent of Palestinians believe that the PNA's decision was correct, according to a poll conducted recently by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

A high majority of 86 percent of interviewees want the PNA to submit a complaint against Israel for building settlements in the occupied territories. Despite that, the poll found that the public confidence in the effectiveness of the court is not high.

"The ICC's decisions will not benefit me as a citizen. Such move can help the Palestinian state achieve some results on the political level. However, I'm still not optimistic," Mansour told Xinhua, "even if the ICC ruled in our favor, I'm not sure they can help us implement their decisions on the ground."

Mansour's views reflect a high majority of Palestinians who support seeking the UN's organizations but don't expect it to deter Israel from its settlement building.

According to the poll, only 42 percent of interviewees believe that joining the ICC will be effective in reducing or stopping settlement construction.

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat described the step as historic and observers say the step is important to break the cycle of a two-decade failed negotiations.

Political analyst Ahmed Rafiq Awad told Xinhua that joining the ICC is positive because it can break the Israeli monopoly over the peace process and also deter and frighten Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people.

"It also helps the Palestinians be stronger in any future negotiations so that the Israelis don't feel that they're the one party that is in control," Awad explained, adding that the step comes as a part of the Palestinian efforts to internationalize the Palestinian cause and reframe the relationship with Israel.

"The ICC doesn't guarantee justice for Palestinians. Yes, it's important for Palestinians to seek the ICC but this shouldn't be the final step Palestinians take as they shouldn't forget the need for internal unity, resistance, and other alternatives," Awad said. Endit