Envoy: Hague court should examine Israel

The International Court of Justice at the Hague should examine Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Falk said. At the 20th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, Falk delivered a 16-page report outlining Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, The Jerusalem Post said Tuesday. "Support [should] be given for a request to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the Israeli practice of transferring detained Palestinians to prisons in Israel, denying normal visitation rights," the paper quoted Falk as saying. The UNHRC spent most of Monday debating Israel's actions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights, the paper said. Israel cut off ties with the council and has also refused to cooperate with Falk, a human rights expert who has acted as special rapporteur to the Council on human rights issues in Palestinian areas since 2008, the paper said. Falk asked the council to commission a study to examine if international law covers situations of prolonged occupation and a second study on Israel's use of administrative detention, the paper said. He also said the Israeli response to Palestinian rocket fire on southern Israel is unjustified, saying, Israel "continues to rely on excessive or disproportionate use of force in Gaza." Falk called on the international community to "respond to these developments." Yigal Palmor a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry called Falk's comments "phantasmagorical," pandering to "the interests of the dictatorships, which manipulate the council."