The Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, met the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, at the tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday.
Riyad al-Maliki said an investigation by the ICC would be an “important and historic step towards justice for the Palestinian people who continue to suffer ongoing, widespread and systematic crimes”.
He said the move was “due to the intensity and the rate and the severity of the crimes against our people” including the targeting of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza strip".
The Palestinian Authority has used international law to fight Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. Last month, diplomats in Geneva filed a complaint against the Israeli regime, under a UN anti-racism treaty, triggering what may be a lengthy investigation.
In a statement on the ICC referral, the Palestinian foreign ministry said Israel’s settlement regime was “the single most dangerous threat to Palestinian lives, livelihoods, and national rights”.
