“Hamas” spokesman Hazem Qassem

“Hamas” spokesman Hazem Qassem said that "the German president's talk about the International Criminal Court's lack of jurisdiction to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes is a violation of international law, and an open bias towards the occupation and its aggressive policy against our Palestinian people”.

The German president's attitude, according to Qassem, "encourages the occupation to continue its crimes and aggression, and elevates the occupied entity above international law."

The top Palestinian figure made his remarks in response to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's earlier statement during which he said that the International Criminal Court "does not have the power to probe Israel's breaches in the occupied Palestinian territories."

"The German government's position is that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in this matter due to the absence of Palestinian statehood," Steinmeier told Haaretz on the eve of his visit to “Israel” due to start on Wednesday evening.

The German President considered that "the only way to establish a Palestinian state and define regional borders is for Israelis and Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations."

Fifty European leaders criticized the Israeli occupation's attempts to accuse the International Criminal Court of "anti-Semitism" and prevent it from carrying out its mandate earlier this month.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, announced in March that she was opening an investigation into war crimes committed by “Israel” against Palestinians.

“The investigation will cover crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that are alleged to have been committed in the situation since 13 June 2014, the date to which reference is made in the referral of the situation to my office,” said Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in a statement.

“Any investigation undertaken by the office will be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor,” she stressed.