PLO Joins International Criminal Court

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Palestinian Authority officials were granted membership in the International Criminal Court at The Hague Wednesday where they hope to pursue war crimes against Israel.

PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said all the legal and technical elements were in place following their signing of the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty known, on January 1, 2015.

"In international legal terms, Palestine is a country under occupation," Erekat told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. "This occupied country is composed of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

Erekat says the PLO is eligible to join up to 523 organizations, international treaties and protocols.

Over the past three months, a PLO committee explored the possibilities for charging Israel with breaching international law during last summer's military incursion in Gaza and for "settlement activity."

Israel launched last summer's 50-day operation to thwart daily rocket and mortar barrages against Israeli population centers, including Tel Aviv, Beersheva, and Ashkelon. The operation began with targeted airstrikes on the terror infrastructure, followed by a ground incursion to uncover and destroy attack tunnels built under Israel's border.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki will represent the PLO at official ceremonies Wednesday.