Palestinian Authority moves towards International Criminal Court

The Palestinian Authority has signed on to 20 international agreements a day after a bid for independence failed at the United Nations Security Council.

Among the accords approved by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The move now paves the way for the court to take jurisdiction over crimes committed int he Palestinian territories and investigate the conduct of Israeli and Palestinian leaders over more than a decade of bloody conflict.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017.