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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: Emil Salman / dpa
The International Criminal Court has paved the way for investigations into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
The court ruled on Friday in The Hague that the court has jurisdiction over areas that Israel has occupied since 1967, such as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
This would also allow proceedings against Israeli officers.
However, the judges emphasized that this decision does not make any statement about the legality of the borders.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the decision.
The court has once again proven that it is a political and not a legal institution, said the Prime Minister's office.
The court ignores the real war crimes.
With the decision, the court violated the right of democracies to defend themselves against terrorism.
Israel does not recognize the criminal court.
The Palestinians welcomed the court decision.
Possible preliminary investigations can be directed against Israeli citizens such as officers, as well as against Palestinians.
Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in December 2019 that war crimes investigations were justified.
However, she had initially requested a judicial decision on jurisdiction.
Palestine has been a state party to the World Criminal Court since 2015.
This means that the court is also responsible for crimes that have been committed there.
Several states, organizations and international legal experts had taken positions in the legal dispute.
Germany had declared that from the perspective of the federal government, Palestine was not a state.
Therefore there is no basis for a jurisdiction of the court
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svv / dpa