Israel is to “engage” with the International Criminal Court currently investigating alleged war crimes, but only in order to challenge the court’s right to probe Palestinian allegations, an official told AFP on Thursday.
“We’ve decided to engage with the ICC; the engagement will be limited solely to the question of authority” to deal with Palestinian authorities, an Israeli official told AFP anonymously.
The investigation, ordered in January, was meant to establish whether there was sufficient evidence to launch a full-fledged war crimes probe into last summer’s conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Over 2,200 Palestinians were killed in the nearly two-month long conflict, most of whom were civilians. 73 Israelis were killed, mainly soldiers.
A UN report released in June said both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes in the Gaza conflict, and ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has stated both sides could face charges.
