Israel urges fund cutting for ICC over probe into war crimes

Israel on Sunday called for cutting funding for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) over the tribunal's decision to launch probe into war crimes committed by Israel in last summer's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel is trying to get different countries to stop funding the ICC tribunal in The Hague.

"We will demand our friends in Canada, Australia and Germany to simply stop funding it (the ICC)," Lieberman told Israel Radio on Sunday, in response to the announcement of the probe over the weekend.

"This body represents no one. It is a political body," Lieberman added. "There are quite a few countries that also think there is no justification for this body's existence," he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also commented on the decision on Sunday, calling it "a new level of hypocrisy."

"This decision gives legitimacy and international patronage to terror," Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, criticizing the international body for not probing the conduct of Hamas.

Netanyahu added that Israel would fight this probe in every possible way.

On Friday, prosecutors from the ICC said they would conduct an independent and impartial probe into alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the Gaza war, in which more than 2,100 Palestinians and 70 Israelis were killed.

The decision comes after an official request to join the ICC was submitted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Since peace talks collapsed last April, Abbas and Palestinian leaders have tried to join several international treaties in order to promote the establishment of a Palestinian state through diplomatic channels.

The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal and has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals over crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The funding for the tribunal comes from its 122 member states. Israel and the United States are not members.

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