Off the wire
• Iran says appointment of UN rights rapporteur "unjustified"  • Israel charges Palestinian with smuggling diving gear for Hamas  • China's oil refineries running below 70 pct capacity  • Russia awarded 2021 Biathlon World Championships  • Roadside bomb blast kills 6 soldiers in Yemen's Aden  • Sierra Leonean students leave for China for further studies  • Yemeni PM visits Sudan to promote bilateral relations  • Chinese president extends condolences over terrorist bombing in the Philippines  • Kenyan leader signs fisheries law  • (G20 Summit) Roundup: Hangzhou summit offers opportunity to reinvigorate global economy: EU leaders  
You are here: 　 Home

ICC panel to visit Palestinian territories over crimes probe

Xinhua, September 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Sunday that a delegation from the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor's Office will soon visit the Palestinian territories over "Israeli crimes against humanity."

Malki said in an interview with official Voice of Palestine radio that the delegation will meet with Palestinian officials to brief them on the efforts of Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, with regards to the initial examinations of the files submitted by Palestinians 20 months ago.

The minister said that Palestinians are preparing for this "important visit," pointing out that the Palestinian side will brief the delegation on details that could speed up the initial court investigation into "Israeli crimes against humanity."

Malki, who met with Bensouda at The Hague last week, said that "it's clear that they would start the official investigation process soon, maybe in a few months."

Israeli public radio cited on Friday Israeli media as reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering allowing representatives of the ICC Prosecution to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories in the coming few weeks.

The daily Israeli Haaretz quoted an anonymous source as saying that the ICC delegation's visit comes against the backdrop of the complaints filed by Palestinians against Israel's settlement activity and the Israeli military offensive on Gaza in mid 2014.

The sources said that Israel has nothing to hide and that Israel will brief the delegation on the work of the judicial system to prove that there is no need for The Hague's intervention regarding Palestinian complaints.

However, Netanyahu has not made a final decision, the sources said.

Palestinians have joined the ICC official since 1 April 2015, after the United Nations recognized Palestine as a non-member states on 29 November 2012.

The ICC prosecutor initiated a preliminary investigation on the status of affairs in the Palestinian territories on 26 January 2015.

Palestinians filed a comprehensive complaint on "Israeli crimes" in the Palestinian territories, which was followed by an additional memorandum regarding the Israeli settler arson attack in the West Bank in July 2015. Endit