Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas appointed a central committee to oversee, prepare and submit all documentation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), regarding alleged war crimes by Israel.
The committee, appointed on Saturday, will be lead by veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and will reportedly include other figures from academia and human rights organisations. Abbas was cited as saying the committee “will identify and prepare the documents and records that the state of Palestine will present to the ICC.”
Haaretz quoted a senior Palestinian official as saying, "We will also need advice from external and international elements". "It is a very complex undertaking, covering the preparation of documents, the collection of evidence and a lot of other field work," further added the official.
Palestine had submitted an application to join the ICC last year, paving the way for potential war crimes cases to be raised against Israel. Last month, a preliminary investigation into potential war crimes committed was launched by the ICC, who said it would review the case “in full independence and impartiality”.
The move was slammed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who labelled it “preposterous” and “absurd” since “the Palestinian Authority cooperates with Hamas, a terror group that commits war crimes, in contrast to Israel that fights terror while maintaining international law, and has an independent justice system.”
See more from the Times of Israel here.
The committee, appointed on Saturday, will be lead by veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and will reportedly include other figures from academia and human rights organisations. Abbas was cited as saying the committee “will identify and prepare the documents and records that the state of Palestine will present to the ICC.”
Haaretz quoted a senior Palestinian official as saying, "We will also need advice from external and international elements". "It is a very complex undertaking, covering the preparation of documents, the collection of evidence and a lot of other field work," further added the official.
Palestine had submitted an application to join the ICC last year, paving the way for potential war crimes cases to be raised against Israel. Last month, a preliminary investigation into potential war crimes committed was launched by the ICC, who said it would review the case “in full independence and impartiality”.
The move was slammed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who labelled it “preposterous” and “absurd” since “the Palestinian Authority cooperates with Hamas, a terror group that commits war crimes, in contrast to Israel that fights terror while maintaining international law, and has an independent justice system.”
See more from the Times of Israel here.