Campaigners build 'war crimes' case

Israel has been accused of using excessive force

By Orla Guerin BBC Middle East correspondent

Human rights groups in Israel have begun gathering claims about alleged war crimes which they plan to present to the new International Criminal Court in The Hague.

In recent days Israel has demolished homes belonging to Palestinian militants and assassinated militant leaders - actions which human rights lawyers want to bring before the court.

I genuinely fear that there might well be a danger that Israelis will be brought before this court

Alan Baker, Israeli Government advisor

Israeli officials are worried about a wave of cases against Israeli soldiers and politicians, which, they say are politically motivated.

I travelled to an Israeli checkpoint in Surda, near the West Bank town of Ramallah, guarded by an armoured personnel carrier and heavily armed Israeli troops.

Human rights workers claim it is at checkpoints like this that serious abuses are often committed.

Checkpoint 'shooting'

Iba Omer al-Barghouti, a local taxi driver, says he saw an unarmed Palestinian man shot in the head right here.

Israel says its actions are meant to deter attacks

"We were all here as usual. The soldiers yelled at us to go back, and we did. One soldier fired in the air. Then he went down on one knee and fired. He hit a man called Adel in the head. Now he is paralysed," Mr al-Barghouti told me.

It is claims like Iba's that human rights workers are collecting.

Israeli soldiers and politicians are worried now that arrest warrants could be waiting if they travel abroad.

They are turning for help to government legal advisor Alan Baker.

Mr Baker says they could wind up in the dock.

"I genuinely fear that there might well be a danger that Israelis will be brought before this court.

"We'll do everything possible to prevent it and we trust that the other parties to the statute - especially the European countries - will prevent the abuse of the court in order to fight political battles," he said.

No immunity

But supporters of the court say it is not about politics, it is about human rights.

I don't want some general to think he won't be held accountable because he didn't actually do it

Professor Jeff Halper, human rights campaigner

Professor Jeff Halper, a long-time Israeli human rights campaigner, is already hunting for names and for suspects.

"We can't let anybody off the hook. I don't want some common foot soldier to feel that he can do anything because he is just following orders and that he won't be held accountable.

"And I don't want some general to think he won't be held accountable because he didn't actually do it - he was sitting in his office that day when they destroyed this particular Palestinian city," said Mr Halper.

'Licence to kill'

Damaging Palestinian cities and destroying homes often goes unpunished now, according to Israeli civil rights lawyer Dan Yakir.

He insists the Israeli army, the IDF, has a poor record in prosecuting its own.

"The policy of the IDF not to investigate most of the cases in the territories does give the impression of a licence to kill.

"Now there is an external institution, the International Criminal Court, that might deter soldiers from abusing their power," he said.

In the West Bank, many Palestinians fear the court won't change their lives - at least not in the short term.

But much as Israel objects to it, it won't be exempt from its proceedings.

No-one is - from foot soldiers to heads of state.