In big blow to Israel, ICC rules it has jurisdiction over Palestinian territories

The judgement has paved the way into investigations of atrocities committed in the Palestinian territories. Almost an year ago, the ICC said it had gathered enough evidence Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had earlier commented that there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes had been committed in the besieged areas. Naming both the Israel Defence Forces and Palestinian groups like Hamas as possible perpetrators, she asked the court to establish what areas any future inquiry would cover because of the contested legal and factual issues of the territories.

In their decision Friday, the ICC said it had decided by majority that the court's jurisdiction "extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision, stating that the court impairs the rights of democratic countries to defend themselves. Israel is not a member of the ICC and rejects its jurisdiction to hide its crimes in the occupied territories.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh welcomed the verdict, calling the decision a victory for humanity and justice.