ICC to probe crimes in occupied Palestinian territories

BERLIN (AA) - The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday opened a probe into crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that the investigations “will be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favour.”

The announcement came nearly a month after the ICC ruled that it had jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, including those occupied by Israel since 1967.

The ICC’s probe may pave the way for legal proceedings against Tel Aviv for war crimes in Palestinian territories.

“My Office welcomes the opportunity to engage with both the Government of Palestine and the Government of Israel, to determine how justice may best be served within a framework of complementary domestic and international action,” chief prosecutor Bensouda said in her statement.

“In this way, we can hope to achieve some measure of accountability and justice for the benefit of Palestinian and Israeli victims of Rome Statute crimes,” she added.

Palestine is a party to the ICC’s founding treaty Rome Statute since 2015, and has long carried out diplomatic efforts for the investigation of alleged war crimes by Israel in the occupied territories.