Palestinians to prosecute Israel at ICC

A senior Palestinian diplomat announced on Wednesday that the Palestinians will file two suits against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on June 25.

Nabil Abu Zneid, the Palestinian ambassador in the Netherlands, told Voice of Palestine radio that the two suits are related to the Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the Israeli war waged on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Palestinian Foreign Minister Reyad el-Malki is to head a high-ranking Palestinian delegation comprising rights groups, and will file the two suits against Israel in the international court on June 25," Abu Zneid said.

On April 1, the non-member observer state of Palestine became a member of the ICC and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The senior Palestinian diplomat said: "The train has already departed the station and Israel has to hurry up to catch it, because refusing to deal with the ICC would be a wrong Israeli choice."

"One month after submitting the two suits against Israel, a top ICC delegation will visit the Palestinian territories to probe the two suits," Abu Zneid said, adding, "but we still don't know how Israel will deal with their visit".

The visit of a top ICC delegation to the Palestinian territories will be the first ever of such a high-ranking delegation to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

"The ICC delegation will meet both Israeli and Palestinian sides," said Abu Zneid, adding that "all of us are waiting how Israel will be reacting to the visit of the ICC delegation to the Palestinian territories".