RAMALLAH, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Foreign Ministry Sunday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into Israel's threats to demolish houses in Sur Baher town of East Jerusalem.
The ICC should launch an official investigation into the "house demolition crimes," the ministry said in a press statement.
The ministry statement condemned the Israeli high court's ruling against the appeal submitted by the Palestinian residents facing demolition and displacement.
The Israeli court decision "proves that the Israeli judiciary is part of the Israeli colonial mindset and has nothing to do with law, but provides cover and protection to the occupier's crimes and violations," the statement said.
Israeli authorities, however, claim that the 10 buildings in East Jerusalem, home to around 70 Palestinian families, were constructed without permits.
Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, deemed illegal by the large international community, is considered one of the thorniest issues that hinder the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
According to UN reports, some 20,000-25,000 Jewish settlers add to the population in the West Bank settlements annually.
Israel has denied Palestinians in East Jerusalem citizenship rights since the city was annexed in 1967. Instead, it only granted the Palestinians limited "residents" status which can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state, while Israel wants all Jerusalem to be its eternal capital.
Israel annexed East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and declared the entire city as its eternal indivisible capital in 1980, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
