Netanyahu dismisses ICC probe because the PA is not a state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the ICC decision to start a probe into possible Israeli war crimes is “false” because the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not a state, media reports have claimed. Bloomberg reported a statement issued by Netanyahu’s office reacting angrily to the ICC prosecutor’s decision, calling it “scandalous” and “absurd”.

“The Palestinian Authority cooperates with Hamas, a terror group that commits war crimes,” said the Israeli statement, “in contrast to Israel, which fights terror while maintaining international law, and has an independent justice system.”

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said on Friday that she has opened a preliminary examination into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. She insists that she will conduct the probe with “full independence and impartiality”.

In a statement to Anadolu news agency on Friday, ICC Spokesman Fadi Abdullah said that Bensouda’s announcement is the start of a detailed analysis of the situation in Palestine. The result, he explained, will be one of three possible scenarios: an application will be made for the ICC to open an investigation; further information will be collected; or the whole case will be rejected.