ICC ruling ‘victory of justice and humanity': Palestine

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The prime minister of Palestinian hailed a decision Friday by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Palestinian territories as a "victory of justice and humanity".

The ICC decided that it has jurisdiction regarding crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the decision carried the message that crimes committed would not be dropped due to prescription, and that perpetrators would not go unpunished, according to the official Palestine Wafa news agency.

Shtayyeh asked the ICC to speed up the judicial process regarding crimes committed by Israel during three wars against Gaza, as well as regarding Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails and illegal Israeli settlements.

“Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of ICC decided, by majority, that the Court's territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine, a State party to the ICC Rome Statute, extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967,” ICC said in a statement.

The UN General Assembly in Resolution 67/19 "[reaffirmed] the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967," it said.

Based on the relevant UN resolution, the ICC found that the Court has territorial jurisdiction in Gaza City and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. The occupation is considered illegal under international law.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara