Palestinian Minister to Hand ’War Crimes’ Files to ICC

Local Editor

The Palestinian foreign minister is visiting the International Criminal Court to hand prosecutors files detailing "Israeli" war crimes in Gaza and settlement construction in the West Bank and occupied east al-Quds.

The files being taken to court Wednesday afternoon feed into a preliminary investigation ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is carrying out into possible crimes on Palestinian territory.

Bensouda's initial probe aims to establish if there is enough evidence to merit opening a full-scale investigation that could ultimately lead to charges against both "Israelis" and Palestinians.

Further, the move came just days after a separate investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused both sides of committing possible war crimes in last summer's Gaza War.

The Palestinian Authority joined the international court this year; the Zionist entity, however, is not a member.

During preliminary inquiries, prosecutors use publicly available information to establish whether crimes were committed of gravity sufficient to warrant a full investigation.

Moreover, they typically include fact finding missions to countries involved, even if they were non-members.

Nonetheless, a refusal to meet with ICC officials would place "Israel" in awkward company, since even implacable opponents of the court had received ICC prosecutors, including Russia in relation to inquiries the ICC was conducting in Ukraine and Georgia into conflicts where Russian involvement was alleged.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team