Ramallah, Dec 9 (IANS): Palestine has secured observer status at the International Criminal Court (ICC), paving the way for the Palestinians to sue senior Israeli officials for war crimes.

The position was granted to Palestine at the summit meeting of the 122 ICC member states in New York Monday, Press TV reported Tuesday.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, said the move paved the way for Palestine membership of the ICC, adding that the Palestinian government is moving in that direction "but that's another step in that process".

The Palestinian envoy called the move "a further enhancement of our status" in the court, whose headquarters are at The Hague (Netherlands), and in the international arena.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had threatened to join the court to sue Israel over crimes against Palestinians.

On Nov 29, 2012, the 193-member UN General Assembly had voted to upgrade Palestine's status to non-member observer state.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East Al Quds and the Gaza Strip and are demanding withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of Al Quds.