PALESTINIAN rights organisation Al-Haq hit out at a report from the Israeli Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs today, branding it a smear on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the case against Israel for war crimes.

The Ramallah-based group said that the think tank’s recent publication, Legal Assault: How the ICC Has Been Weaponised Against the US and Israel, was inflammatory and misleading.

It was written by a former director general of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs and a former secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress.

According to Al-Haq, the report was “the latest effort in a protracted smear campaign” against Palestinian civil society groups pursuing an end to impunity for atrocities committed in Palestine.

“It aims to discredit the prosecutor of the ICC, her office, Al-Haq and its partners, as well as specific members of their staff as well as others” pursuing the ICC case against Israel for war crimes, Al-Haq said.

But the report was accused of relying on “baseless, spurious allegations and outdated information” and focusing on disproven claims of improper funding and conduct. 

It was claimed that it seeks to undermine Al-Haq, which has submitted detailed files of evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed within the Palestinian occupied territories.

The recent ruling that the ICC does have jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories has been challenged by officials from the US, European countries and Australia, as well as Israel, which had lobbied against the decision.

But ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda dismissed the appeals, issuing a legal briefing that says Palestine is a state.

“My office is executing its mandate regarding [the] Palestine situation with utmost professionalism, independence and objectivity in strict conformity with the Rome Statute.

“Any insinuation and assertion to the contrary is simply misled and unfounded,” she said in a statement.