Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the International Criminal Court of “pure antisemitism” after it ruled it has jurisdiction over possible crimes in the West Bank and Gaza. 

The international tribunal, which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled by a majority on Friday that it has jurisdiction in “territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem."

The decision could lay the groundwork for a potential ICC probe into alleged Israeli and Palestinian war crimes. 

"When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure antisemitism.

“The court established to prevent atrocities like the Nazi Holocaust against the Jewish people is now targeting the one state of the Jewish people,” Mr Netanyahu said on Saturday.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, however, hailed the decision as a “victory for justice and humanity,” according to the news agency Wafa. 

The US said it had “serious concerns” about the ruling.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington “has always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the UN Security Council.”