Foreign Minister Complaints to ICC Prosecutor over Procrastination in Investigating Israel

The Hague, MINA — Foreign Minister Riyad Malki complained on Wednesday to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, for the procrastination in starting an investigation into Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people, WAFA reported.

A statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that Malki expressed to Bensouda during a meeting on the sideline of the 17th session of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC, which opened in The Hague on Wednesday, his disappointment with the initial study carried out by the office of the prosecutor on the situation in Palestine, calling on Bensouda to speed up the process to start an investigation to bring justice to the Palestinian victims of Israeli atrocities.

He said a probe will serve as a deterrent to Israel against continuing in its crimes and to bring justice to the Palestinians.

“Any delay in the investigation is a delay in bringing justice and gives the occupying power impunity and more time to commit its daily crimes,” Malki told Bensouda.

The Palestinian Authority submitted for the first time on May 22 a referral to the ICC calling on the prosecutor to open an immediate investigation into the Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The referral was rushed after Israeli forces killed 62 Palestinians, mainly in the Gaza Strip, on May 14 who were protesting the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)