New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Palestine will join the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 1, a move that will enable the Palestinians to pursue war crime charges against Israel, AP news agency reported.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) submitted last Friday the documents ratifying the Rome Statute that established the court, as the last formal step to becoming a member of the world's permanent war crimes tribunal.
In a statement posted on the UN's treaty website on Tuesday night, the secretary-general said "the statute will enter into force for the State of Palestine on April 1, 2015," pointing out that he was acting as the "depositary" for the documents of ratification.
Israel and the U.S. strongly opposed the Palestine's attempt to join the ICC, with US officials calling the move counter-productive.
Israel has also halted the transfer of more than $ 120 million in taxes belonging to the Palestinians in retaliation for their application to join the ICC.
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