Calling it a "historic step" toward justice, the Palestinian foreign minister has asked the International Criminal Court to open an "immediate investigation" into alleged Israeli "crimes" committed against the Palestinian people.
Speaking on Tuesday to reporters at the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said he submitted the "referral" to the court during a meeting with the ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.
The referral sought an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since the state of Palestine accepted the ICC's jurisdiction in 2014, he said.
This includes Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as the recent round of bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli fire killed over 100 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border, Malki added.
"There is a culture of impunity in Israel for crimes against Palestinians," Malki said. "This referral is Palestine's test to the international mechanism of accountability and respect for international law."
The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, including Israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict.
Tuesday's referral could speed up a decision on whether to open a full-blown investigation that could ultimately lead to the indictment of high-ranking Israelis.
In response to Tuesday's move at the ICC, Israel said it took a "severe view" of the Palestinian request, calling it a "cynical" and "absurd" step.
It said the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court.
"Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure, and stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicise the court and to derail it from its mandate," the Israeli statement said.
Israel is not a member of the ICC but the ICC has recognised "Palestine" as a member state.
The Palestinians appear to have a strong case in the matter of settlements. In 2004, the United Nations' highest judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, ruled in an advisory opinion that the settlements breached international law.
In late 2016, the UN Security Council also declared the settlements to be illegal.
Over 600,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem - territories sought by the Palestinians as parts of their future state.
Israel claims the West Bank is not occupied because it was captured from Jordan, not the Palestinians, and Jordan does not make a claim to the territory.
Since the Palestinians never ruled the West Bank, Israel says this territory is disputed and its final status should be resolved in negotiations.
It also claims that settlements can be torn down and therefore do not prejudice the final status of the territory.
It notes that in the case of Gaza, for instance, it uprooted all settlements there when it withdrew in 2005.
