Five countries have called for a war crime investigation to be launched over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said.
The request has been made by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti, prosecutor Karim Kahn said.
South Africa said the referral was made “to ensure that the ICC pays urgent attention to the grave situation in Palestine”.
It should be noted that the ICC already has an ongoing investigation into “the situation in the State of Palestine” for alleged war crimes committed since 13 June 2014.
This means today’s request will have limited practical impact.
Last month, Mr Kahn said his office had jurisdiction both over Hamas’s attack on Israel, and any crimes committed as part of Israel’s response.
In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said it had so far “collected a significant volume of information and evidence” on crimes in the Palestinian territories and also committed by Palestinians.
Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognise its jurisdiction.
The ICC can investigate nationals of non-member states in certain circumstances, including when crimes are alleged to have been committed in the territories of member states.
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