Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Maliki (L) meets ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan in the Hague. (File photo by Palestinian Wafa news agency)

The Hague, December 6 (RHC)-- Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Maliki has handed over to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) a file on the Israeli crimes committed against Palestinian people.

During a meeting in The Hague with Karim Khan, Maliki stressed that the state of Palestine continues to cooperate with the ICC and the staff of the prosecutor's office to submit all documented information that proves that Israeli military and civilian officials have committed serious and continuous crimes against the Palestinian people. He stressed that all of these crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.

The top Palestinian diplomat stressed the importance of the ICC and its role in holding war criminals accountable in light of the the rise to power of the extremist government of terrorist settlers, who bluntly express their schemes that are based on field executions and forcible expulsion.  The Palestinian minister said bringing the criminals before international justice will contribute to the protection of the Palestinian people and deter crimes committed against them.  Elsewhere in his remarks, he called on the ICC prosecutor to pay a visit to Palestine and give priority to administration of justice.

Palestinian human rights advocates last year hailed a decision by the ICC to affirm its full territorial jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories.  The ICC has ruled that it has Jurisdiction to examine possible Israeli war crimes in the occupied territories, a ruling condemned by Israel and praised by Palestinians.   Israel is not a member of the ICC, but Palestine was allowed to join in 2015 and has since called for an investigation into Israeli crimes.

The Hague-based court has already opened an investigation into possible war crimes by Israel in both the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.   In 2021, the UN documented 2,934 grave violations against 1,208 Palestinian children in occupied Palestine and the Gaza Strip. The UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, and other international human rights organizations have accused Israel of apartheid in the past two years.

Israel has killed more than 210 Palestinians since the start of 2022 in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.  Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians, at a time that mainstream media and Western powers turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation forces on a daily basis.

Many believe Israel will get away with its crimes against Palestinians as long as it enjoys protection and patronage from the United States.