The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has signaled that she will not be rushed into making a decision on an investigation into alleged crimes by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
In response to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki's request to the court on Tuesday for an immediate investigation into Israeli crimes, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda issued a statement saying she had already launched a preliminary probe in January 2015 to establish whether she should begin a full-fledged investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories.
The "preliminary examination has seen important progress and will continue to follow its normal course," guided by provisions in the court's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, she said.
Bensouda said she had to consider "issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice" in deciding whether to launch an investigation.
Israel, which is not an ICC member, says the court does not have the authority or jurisdiction to prosecute.
Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a statement slamming the Palestinian referral as a "cynical step" that is "legally invalid." The ministry said the ICC "lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state."
Malki's complaint calls for an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem since the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in June 2014.
According to a Palestinian statement, Malki's "referral" submitted to the court's prosecutors on Tuesday underscored "that there is sufficient compelling evidence of the ongoing commission of grave crimes to warrant an immediate investigation."
The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, including Israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict.
The move comes as Israeli-Palestinian relations are at their lowest point in years, following the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem last week and the deadly clashes on the Gaza border in which Israel killed dozens of violent demonstrators attempting to breach the border.
Israel says it was defending its border and has accused Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group of endangering civilians by using the protests as cover to try to carry out attacks. Hamas later confirmed that most of those killed were Hamas operatives.
Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory of, or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognized Palestine as a member state.
While the ICC can indict suspects, it has no police force and has to rely on cooperation from member states to enforce arrest warrants.
