The Palestinian Authority (PA) official in charge of foreign affairs, Riyad al-Maliki, met on Monday with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor in The Hague and protested the fact that an investigation against Israel had not yet begun.
Maliki claimed that "the continuation of the occupation alongside the continuation of the American policy that encourages it" justify the opening of an investigation.
The two discussed the planned evacuation of the illegal Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, and Maliki tried to convince the prosecutor that the evacuation is tantamount to the expulsion of innocent civilians.
Maliki had previously met with the chief prosecutor in May to push for an investigation of Israeli war crimes after more than 60 Gazans, most of them members of Hamas, were killed during violent riots along the border.
Later, however, the Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, refused the PA’s request to open an immediate investigation against Israel, saying, "The mere submission of the request does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation.”
Israel is not a member of the ICC and is not subject to its rulings.
The PA officially joined the ICC on April 1, 2015, and immediately filed a series of legal complaints with the court. In addition to claiming that Israel committed war crimes during the 2014 Gaza war, it also claimed that Israeli “settlements” are “an ongoing war crime”.
The PA has had standing at the court since the UN General Assembly recognized the "state of Palestine" as a non-member observer in 2012.