ICC investigates alleged crimes in Palestinian territories

The Hague: The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Wednesday she has launched an investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories.

Fatou Bensouda said in a statement the probe will be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favour. 

Bensouda said in 2019 there was a reasonable basis to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

Following that assessment, she asked judges to rule on the extent of the court’s jurisdiction in the troubled region. They did that last month, saying that the court’s jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war