We filed a Complaint to The ICC Against its Refusal to Rule Over Turkey Settling Northern Cyprus Before Investigating Israel Over its Settlements Policy

In a daring move that will test the International Criminal Court’s impartiality and focus on a true pursuit of justice—and not just an anti-Israel agenda—Shurat HaDin has called out ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for a decision on Northern Cyprus and Turkish war crimes. The ICC has been quick-on-the-trigger to accept any accusations leveled against the State of Israel, and Bensouda declared the Israeli settlements a war crime in 2015. So, the question begs to be asked: What about Northern Cyprus? The standard used by the ICC against Israel must apply to all nations, even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The demand that the ICC investigate Turkey came in 2014—a year before the court’s decision on Israel—but it has remained an issue the prosecutor does not want to touch. “For [a period of] seven years Bensouda has brazenly ignored our communications involving Turkey’s occupation of Northern Cyprus despite all our repeated demands and warnings,” Shurat HaDin founder and president Nitsana Darshan-Leitner stated. “Finally, when we complained to the ICC’s Independent Oversight Commission, Bensouda was forced to act [and do something]. We want to ensure that the ICC would not be able to deal with Palestinian complaints against Israel without first determining how Turkey is occupying Northern Cyprus. Let’s see the ICC [really] go after Erdoğan.” While United Nations rulings have called upon Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a settlement over territory, Turkey has absolutely no legal claim or basis for being in Northern Cyprus. They have initiated a program of racial displacement and stolen half the island nation.