Roundup: Palestinians hail official joining of ICC

The Palestinians hailed on Wednesday the official joining of the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying it's a first ever unprecedented decision that gives a right to the Palestinians to sue Israel for committing "war crimes" against them.

The ICC organized earlier on Wednesday an official ceremony in Hague, the Netherlands, to make the official declaration of accepting the state of Palestine as the state member at number 123 in the court.

On January 2, the Palestinians officially joined the Rome Statute which paved the road for them to join the ICC.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Reyad al-Malki attended the ceremony, where the head of the ICC handed him a copy of the Rome Statute.

"It is a historic moment in the Palestinian history," Al-Malki was quoted as saying by the official Palestinian news agency "Wafa."

"Having the statute and joining the international criminal court will certainly contribute to achieving justice. This manifests a step towards ending the era of keeping criminals free without punishment and at the same time the principles of justice and human rights will be promoted."

Addressing a speech at the ceremony, the foreign minister stressed that the Palestinians people "have been suffering a lot from war crimes for so many years due to the illegal measures and practices of the Israeli military occupation, especially the war waged on the Gaza Strip last summer."

"It is so important to take all the necessary measures to guarantee accountability for the Israeli crimes and at the same time ensure a protection of the Palestinian civilians," said al-Malki, who called on the court to pay more attention to the situation in Palestine.

Joining the ICC came after the Palestinian diplomatic position in the United Nations General Assembly was promoted to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in an emailed press statement that "the Palestinian side was fully confident that the state of Palestine would officially become a member in the court because it is a Palestinian right guaranteed by the court and the international law."

Erekat noted that after granting Palestine as a member in the ICC, the court will start probes in crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip.

Commenting on Israel's rejection to the Palestinian decision of joining ICC, Erekat said "the Palestinians are determined to carry on heading to all international organizations."

Meanwhile, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said in a press statement that becoming a member in the ICC "is the first step towards an endless comprehensive political and legal battle against the crimes of the Israeli occupation."

"The executive committee will carry on with its efforts in order to sue Israel in the court and at the same time to finalize the internal reconciliation as soon as possible," said the PLO statement.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) also hailed the joining of the ICC, saying in a press statement that "after joining the court and receiving Rome Statute, the Israeli occupation won't be immune and it will be taken to this court for committing awful war crimes against our people."

Islamic Hamas movement also welcomed Palestine became an official member of the ICC. Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas movement leader in Gaza, told reporters that "we support any Palestinian effort aims at unveiling the practices and the crimes of the occupation."

"We call on the criminal court to immediately start suing the leaders of the Israeli occupation for the crimes they committed against the Palestinian people," said Radwan.

However, he said that Hamas was always concerned that joining the court "will only be a political action which aims at exerting pressure on the occupation to gain more supportive political stances." Endit