GAZA CITY (Agencies): Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of “state terror” and “war crimes” on Wednesday, amid fighting between Palestinian terror groups and the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip.
“This is organized state terror conducted by Israel. These are war crimes punishable under international law. We shall not hesitate to pursue those who commit such crimes before the International Criminal Court,” President Mahmoud Abbas said in a pre-recorded address to the Arab Parliament, the symbolic legislative body of the Arab League.
The International Criminal Court in the Hague is currently investigating both Israel and Hamas for war crimes committed since 2014.
Abbas’s Palestinian Authority has limited self-rule in various enclaves in the West Bank, while Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Some 227 Palestinians, including 64 children, have been killed in the recent fighting, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The IDF says most of the fatalities were members of terror groups.
Twelve people have been killed by rocket fire in Israel.
