The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants condemned the German President’s statements on the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing it as “the German president's departure from the rules of international law and interference in the work of the ICC, its decisions, and the decision of the Prosecutor to open a criminal investigation into crimes committed within its jurisdiction.”

It said in a statement that “the ICC has settled the issue of jurisdiction and its authority to investigate crimes committed by Israeli officials in the occupied territory of the state of Palestine.”

It stressed that “the status of the State of Palestine at the international level as a state with all rights and duties is not subject to the opinions of the German president or his state. Rather, it is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, which is an issue that has been resolved since the declaration of independence, leading to the State of Palestine’s obtaining the status of an observer state in the United Nations, and its active membership in the institutions of the international community.”

The Ministry called on the German president and Germany “to stop their biased stand which grants Israel immunity from accountability and punishment, and consider it a state above the law.”

It said it considers that these biased positions encourage Israel to commit its crimes and continue with its colonial project, consolidate its apartheid regime and racial discrimination while depriving the Palestinian people of their basic rights.