The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, stated that the defamation campaigns targeting the court about its impartiality through the news circulated in the Israeli media will not affect the course of the investigation regarding a neutral and independent Palestine.
This came in a statement published by the International Criminal Court - which is based in the Dutch city of The Hague - through her account on Twitter on Friday.
The statement pointed out that the court is conducting its investigation on Palestine in a neutral and independent manner, stressing that the allegations to the contrary are baseless.
The statement said that the International Criminal Court will continue to operate without delay, adhering to the Rome Statute.
Bensoda called on the International Criminal Court last week to rule that Palestine be a "state" on the lands of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.
In January, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Bensoda called on the Palestinian and Israeli parties, along with other countries and victims, to express their opinion on the court’s authority to open an investigation into war crimes committed by Israel.
Last December, the Prosecutor said that she would open a full investigation into charges of war crimes in the Palestinian territories, which could include charges against Israelis or Palestinians.
"I am convinced that war crimes were committed or committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip," she said in a statement, explaining that given the Palestinian Authority’s request to enter the court, she did not need to request the judges ’approval to start the investigation.
At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the International Criminal Court and said that its investigation in the Palestinian territories makes it an "anti-Israel" political tool. Israel also questioned the legitimacy of Palestine's accession to the court.
Five years ago, the Palestinian Authority requested the launch of a formal investigation into war crimes committed by Israeli officials in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Palestinians submitted three basic files related to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, settlement in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the issue of prisoners in Israeli prisons.