Palestine becomes full member of International Criminal Court

The Hague, April 1
Palestine joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) with full membership on Wednesday after its accession to the Rome Statute went into force, allowing it to file cases of war crimes such as those committed in the occupied territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

During a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Hague Tribunal on the occasion of the accession, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki received a symbolic copy of the Rome Statute, the treaty which established the ICC, Efe news agency reported.

On January 1, the Palestinian National Authority submitted a document to the court declaring it a signatory to 16 multilateral treaties, including the Rome Statute.

According to the document, the Palestinian government accepted the jurisdiction of the highest international tribunal for alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories since June 13, 2014.

The Palestinian government had already declared its acceptance of the jurisdiction of the ICC on June 13, 2014, through a declaration issued in line with Article 12, subsection three, of the Rome Statute.