Israel agreed to permit officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to visit the country and the occupied territories, according to statements made by an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official profile] has not officially agreed to the visit. Specific details, including the timing of the visit, are still under discussion [Al Jazeera report] with the Israeli government. The ICC requested the visit after receiving complaints of Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Senior officials have stated [Haaretz report] the purpose of the visit will be for outreach and education, not to look into the Palestinian complaints.

The violence in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict [HRW backgrounder] has created contentious legal and human rights situations. In July, Amnesty International (AI) called upon Palestinian and Israeli officials [JURIST report] in a report to properly address human rights violations committed by their forces. The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), a body of independent experts, released closing remarks [JURIST report] to its fifty-seventh session in May, expressing concern about the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinians. An Israeli court in April convicted [JURIST report] Yosef Haim for the 2014 murder of a Palestinian teenager that led to the 50-day war in Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories Makarim Wibisono resigned [JURIST report] from his position in January, saying that Israel has not granted him access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory after repeated requests.