The Arab League welcomes the court’s decision ... and Netanyahu considers it “outright hostility”
The Palestinian government will start coordinating with the International Criminal Court to start its investigations
The International Criminal Court has decided that its jurisdiction includes the Palestinian territories.
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The Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki, announced yesterday that coordination with the International Criminal Court has been initiated to start its investigations in Palestine.
This came after the International Criminal Court judges issued a decision yesterday evening, stating that the court has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories, paving the way for investigations into allegations of war crimes committed there.
Al-Maliki told the official Palestinian Radio that the competent Palestinian authorities immediately began contacts and coordination with the "International Criminal Court" to push forward the opening of the official investigation in the Palestinian territories.
Al-Maliki stated that the decision issued by the judges of the International Criminal Court "will expedite and allow the criminal court to initiate investigations into the crimes of the occupation, leading to the trial and accountability of war criminals in Israel."
He pointed out that an agreement will be signed between the Palestinian government and the "International Criminal Court" to send official investigation teams from the court and start their work in the Palestinian territories as soon as possible.
Al-Maliki expressed his hope that the International Criminal Court would begin its investigations as soon as possible, and that the step would constitute "some justice for the victims and a victory for the justice demanded by the Palestinian people."
For his part, Palestinian Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Shalaldeh considered the decision of the International Criminal Court "a legal and judicial victory for the Palestinian cause, because it embodies the international legal personality of Palestine under occupation and raises its legal standing before international criminal law."
Shalaldeh emphasized in a written statement to the press that the decision "has a very important legal value, because it establishes the concept of the legal sovereignty of the State of Palestine and supports UN decisions, and the focal point for Israeli settlement is in it."
In Cairo, the Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Lands Affairs of the League of Arab States, Saeed Abu Ali, welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people.
In a statement distributed in Cairo, Abu Ali said that the decision is a culmination of the diplomatic efforts made by the State of Palestine in its various official and human rights institutions, and with full Arab support and the solidarity of friendly international institutions in the serious and relentless pursuit of justice.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the decision of the International Criminal Court to declare itself competent to judge events in the occupied Palestinian territories is "outright anti-Semitic."
"When the International Criminal Court interrogates Israel for war crimes, this is considered anti-Semitic," Netanyahu said in a statement.
• The Palestinian Minister of Justice considers the decision a legal victory for the Palestinian cause.
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