World Bulletin / News Desk

 The Palestinian Authority would submit the case files pertaining to the settlements and war crimes lawsuits against Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on June 25, a Palestinian diplomat said.

"The ICC had set June 25 to receive the documents following a request from Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki," Palestinian ambassador to the Netherlands Nabil Abu Znaid told Palestinian radio.

According to the diplomat, al-Maliki would head a Palestinian delegation comprised of officials and activists to The Hague to deliver the documents.

"A month later, an ICC delegation would pay a visit to Palestine - the first of its kind – to follow up the cases," Abu Znaid said. "We don't know how Israel would deal with the court's visiting delegation," he added.

The announcement came one day after al-Maliki said that the Palestinian Authority had asked the ICC to set a date for submitting the case files on the Israeli settlements and war crimes lawsuits.

Last month, Palestine officially joined the ICC after The Hague-based tribunal approved its accession bid.

In January, Palestinians formally delivered the UN papers ratifying the Rome Statute – the legal document establishing the court – with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acting as "depository."

The move came after an Arab draft resolution at the UN General Assembly seeking a deadline for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories failed to win the nine votes needed to pass.

Shortly later, Abbas applied for Palestinian membership in 18 international treaties, including the Rome Statute.

The ICC was established in 1998 as a court of last resort to prosecute the most heinous offenses – such as war crimes and crimes against humanity – in cases where national court systems had failed.