Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki [official profile] said Thursday that he had presented documents [press release, in Arabic] to the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to assist in the investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes. The documents describe the Israel occupation of the West Bank, treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and alleged war crimes committed during fighting in the Gaza Strip last year. Both the US and Israel have criticized [Times of Israel report] the Palestinian Authority’s submission, calling in “unproductive” and challenging whether it is qualified as a member of the court [JURIST report].

The Israel-Palestine conflict continues to be a significant international legal issue. Earlier this month the UN released a report [JURIST report] finding evidence of war crimes by both Israel and Palestinian Hamas fighters. Also this month an international group of high-ranking military officials and diplomats issued its own report [JURIST report], finding that Israel met or exceeded international standards during the conflict. In April the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] ordered a female Palestinian legislative council member to serve a six-month detention without trial [JURIST report] under a system meant to protect from attacks from militants. Later that month, a UN independent board of inquiry uncovered evidence [JURIST report] that at least 44 Palestinians were killed and 227 injured by “Israeli action” during the Gaza conflict of 2014. In May, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] condemned Hamas for human rights abuses [JURIST report], accusing the group of leading a series of abductions, torturous acts and unlawful killings against Palestinians.