ICC prosecutor announces basis to investigate Israel for war crimes

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Friday that she will launch a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into the situation in Palestine," Fatou Bensouda said in a statement.

"In brief, I am satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip," she added, without naming Israel.

ICC on Jan. 16, 2015 had opened a preliminary examination over alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Palestine.

"Specifically, I have sought confirmation that the territory over which the court may exercise its jurisdiction, and which I may subject to investigation, comprises the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza," she said.

Palestinians have long sought to carve out their own nation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip -- territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war -- as a way to end decades of tensions.

The two-state solution has long had broad international support, including from the U.S., until President Donald Trump came to power in 2017 and made a series of pro-Israel policy shifts.