THE HAGUE, May 22, 2018 (WAFA) – In a statement on the referral submitted by Palestine on Tuesday to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that preliminary examination started on 16 January 2015 on the situation in Palestine has seen important progress and will continue to follow its normal course.

"Since 16 January 2015, the situation in Palestine has been subject to a preliminary examination in order to ascertain whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met. This preliminary examination has seen important progress and will continue to follow its normal course, strictly guided by the requirements of the Rome Statute," said Bensouda.

She said that a referral from Palestine, a State Party to the Rome Statute, she received on Tuesday regarding the situation in Palestine since 13 June 2014 with no end date "requests the Prosecutor to investigate, in accordance with the temporal jurisdiction of the Court, past, ongoing and future crimes within the court‘s jurisdiction, committed in all parts of the territory of the State of Palestine".

She said that "as Prosecutor, I must consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in making this determination."

However, she added, a referral "does not automatically lead to the opening of an investigation. Should I, however, ultimately determine that the situation referred warrants an investigation in accordance with the statutory criteria, as a result of this referral, the Statute does not require the Prosecutor to seek authorization from the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court in order to proceed with an investigation."

M.K.