The Palestinian Authority announced today that coordination with the International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun to start its investigations in Palestine, after the court decided its jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories, while Hamas called for "bringing the Israeli war criminals" to international courts.

The Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki, said that the competent authorities immediately began coordination with the International Criminal Court to expedite the opening of an official investigation in Palestine, considering that the decision allows war criminals in Israel to be held accountable before the Criminal Court.

The court announced - in a statement yesterday, Friday - that it "decided - by the majority - that the regional jurisdiction of the court regarding the situation in Palestine, the state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, extends to the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967."

For his part, Palestinian Minister of Justice Muhammad al-Shalaldeh considered the decision a legal and judicial victory for the Palestinian cause, stressing that the decision carries legal value, because it establishes the concept of the legal sovereignty of the State of Palestine and supports UN decisions.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision, and Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said it was a message to the perpetrators that their crimes would not be subject to the statute of limitations, and that they would not go unpunished.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) welcomed the decision, calling for "bringing the Israeli war criminals" to international courts.

Hamas said - in a statement - that "the step is important," adding that "the most important step is to complete the steps required to bring the Zionist war criminals to international courts and hold them accountable."

Anti-Semitic

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the decision of the International Criminal Court as anti-Semitic, targeting the State of Israel.

Netanyahu added - in a series of tweets on Twitter - that the International Criminal Court has proven "once again that it is a political institution and not a judicial body," and that it ignores "real war crimes."

The State of Palestine will work to fully cooperate with the Prosecutor based on the State of Palestine’s adherence to its legal obligations as a member state of the International Criminal Court, believing in the importance of the court’s role in putting an end to the most serious crimes and holding the perpetrators accountable, and its absolute conviction that justice is the key to peace.

- Palestine in NL (@PalMissionNL) February 5, 2021

The US State Department also objected to the decision, as its jurisdiction includes the occupied Palestinian territories, which could pave the way for an investigation into the commission of war crimes by the Israeli occupation.

Ministry spokesman Ned Price expressed his country's concerns about the court’s attempt to exercise its jurisdiction over the Israeli military, and said, "We have always adopted a position that the court’s jurisdiction should exclusively include countries that accept it or cases referred by the UN Security Council to the court."

The # ICC 's decision to consider #Palestine as a member state according to the Treaty of Rome and the court's jurisdiction to consider Palestinian territories' issues and complaints raised by the PA, a victory for right, justice, freedom and moral values ​​in the world.

https://t.co/yGxbyCwEpV

Hussein Al Sheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) February 5, 2021

Fati Bensouda, the chief prosecutor at the court, which was created in 2002 and is based in The Hague, launched in January 2015 a preliminary investigation into charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the aftermath of the 2014 Gaza war.

And at the end of 2019, Bensouda - who is scheduled to leave her post next June - announced that she wanted to open a comprehensive investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, asking the court to decide what lands included within its jurisdiction.