Israel denounces ICC enquiry on 'war crimes' in Palestine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday described as an "outrage," an International Criminal Court (ICC) enquiry into alleged war crimes on Palestinian soil, adding that the court is overstepping its boundaries.

"The Palestinian authority is not a country and therefore it is not the court's place, according to its own rules, to carry out an examination like this," CNN reported citing Netanyahu as saying.

The US also said it "strongly" disagreed with the court's decision.

"As we have said repeatedly, we do not believe that Palestine is a state and therefore we do not believe that it is eligible to join the ICC," the US Department of State said in a statement.

It also urged the warring sides to resolve their differences through direct negotiations.

"We will continue to oppose actions against Israel as counterproductive to the cause of peace at the ICC," the department added.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the ICC had said her office would "conduct its analysis with impartiality".

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman termed the ICC decision as "scandalous".

The 50-day Gaza war in July and August last year had left nearly 2,200 Palestinians killed, including more than 400 children, according to United Nations information. The inquiry would include alleged war crimes Israel committed during the conflict.

The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

As a member of the court, Palestinians may be subjected to counter-charges as well.