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Palestine urges speedy ICC probe into Israeli crimes
Exterior view of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 20 July 2018 in The Hague, Netherlands [Ant Palmer/Getty Images] February 14, 2021 at 3:24 pm
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Sunday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to speed up the opening of an investigation into Israeli crimes against the Palestinians,
Anadolu Agency reported.
A ministry statement said Israeli authorities and settlers were escalating their attacks against the Palestinians, their property and holy sites to achieve their goal of Judaizing Jerusalem and isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings. Israel is seeking to annex area C under Israeli control in the West Bank under the Oslo Accord and empty it from the Palestinian presence, the ministry said.
The Palestinian Authority s recent, and unusual, response to the EU s statement condemning Israel s latest settlement expansion would have been welcomed if it came from a consistent political po.
TODAY
February 6, 2021
Judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday found the court has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, paving the way for a possible criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections.
The decision prompted swift reactions from both Israel, which is not a member of the court and rejects its jurisdiction, and the Palestinian Authority, which welcomed the ruling. The United States objected to the decision.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office was studying the decision and would decide what to do next “guided strictly by its independent and impartial mandate” to prosecute grave war crimes and atrocities when countries are unable or unwilling to do so themselves.