The International Criminal Court is opening a probe into possible war crimes committed by Israelis and Palestinians.
The announcement came Friday from The Hague, Netherlands, after months of challenges by the Palestinian Authority to join the court.
Though the probe is preliminary, being part of the court means war crimes committed in or from territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority can be prosecuted, according to the Associated Press.
“Today the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine,” Bensouda’s office said in a statement, adding it may eventually lead to a full investigation.
Israel has slammed the impending ICC probe, calling it “scandalous,” according to AFP.
In October, Palestinian Authority Ambassador Riyad Mansour said he hoped the ICC would adopt a resolution that would set a November 2016 deadline for Israel to pull out from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
In December, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed the official papers for his region to join the Rome Statute, the document that established the ICC.
“We want to complain. There’s aggression against us, against our land. The Security Council disappointed us,” Abbas said at that time, according to the Associated Press.
The ICC, an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal, can prosecute for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
