‘’The EU reaffirms its long-standing position in support of a negotiated two-state solution based on the internationally agreed parameters.  In order for this to be possible, unilateral actions from either side should be avoided and international law upheld.”

On Friday, a three-judge panel of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague ruled that the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem  are within its jurisdiction as “Palestine [is]a State party to the ICC Rome Statute” and that it can therefore investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Israel. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ICC ruling “pure anti-Semitism” and vowed to fight it.“When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure anti-Semitism,” he said.

Asked for an EU reaction to the ruling, EU spokesperson for foreign affairs Peter Stano told European Jewish Press: “The EU has taken careful note of the decision by the International Criminal Court on the Prosecutor’s request related to territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine, which ruled that the Court’s jurisdiction extends to the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.  Both the ICC and its Prosecutor are independent and impartial judicial institutions with no political objectives to pursue.’’

‘’The EU is a strong supporter of the ICC and of its independence.  All EU Member States have ratified the Rome Statute,’’ he said.

‘’The EU reaffirms its long-standing position in support of a negotiated two-state solution based on the internationally agreed parameters.  In order for this to be possible, unilateral actions from either side should be avoided and international law upheld.”

The Israeli security cabinet completely rejected the “scandalous decision” of the court. In a statement, the Cabinet said ”the court has no authority to make such a decision. Israel is not a member of the international court and the Palestinian Authority does not have the status of a state”.

The Cabinet added: “Even as it allows the investigation of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East that is committed to the rule of law, the court shuts its eyes to the awful war crimes being perpetrated time and again by dark dictatorships such as Iran and Syria.”

“The claim that Jews living in their homeland and their capital of Jerusalem constitutes a war crime is scandalous. Also, the claim that the IDF – there is no more ethical army – is carrying out war crimes even as it protects us from terrorists that launch rockets at our cities – is no less scandalous.”