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Hamas welcomes ICC's inquiry into Israel-Palestine conflict

Xinhua, January 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Islamic Hamas movement said on Saturday it welcomed a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to start looking into possible Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories.

Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed statement the probe "is the right step in the right direction."

"Hamas calls on the international criminal court to finalize all the procedures in order to bring the leaders of the (Israeli) Occupation to court," said Barhoum.

He also said that Hamas is ready to work with the ICC by providing all needed documents, evidence and testimonies that would "show that the Israeli enemy committed war crimes in Gaza against our people."

Since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel had waged three large-scale military campaigns against the Gaza Strip, the longest of which was launched July last year for 50 days.

Also on Saturday, foreign ministry of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said in a statement that "the decision is important and positive towards achieving justice and guaranteeing a respect to the international law."

The ministry said the ICC's decision came after the PNA applied to the court in accordance to Rome Statute, which authorizes ICC to probe possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem.

The ICC announced on Friday that it launched an initial survey, a stage that precedes the probe into possible war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories "to check if there is a reasonable base for starting the probe."

Late last month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a series of international treaties and agencies, including Rome Statute.

The Palestinian foreign ministry also expressed full readiness to cooperate with ICC and facilitate its mission "until justice is achieved in the Palestinian territories," according to the statement.

On Friday, Israel rejected the court's decision as hypocrisy. The U.S. State Department said it was "a tragic irony that Israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinized by the ICC."

Washington has also argued that Palestine is not a state and therefore not eligible to join the ICC, according to the Israeli Haaretz news website. Enditem