Palestinians demand investigation into Israel at Hague court.

Reuters Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Tuesday called on prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a full investigation into allegations of human rights abuses committed by Israel in Palestinian territory, saying the evidence is "irrefutable."

Maliki delivered a so-called "notice" that gives the prosecutor at the court in The Hague the legal basis to go beyond a preliminary inquiry that his office initiated in January 2015.

The ICC has the authority to try cases of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity committed in the territory of the 123 countries that have joined it. Israel has not done so, but the Palestinians have, therefore Israelis can be tried for crimes committed on Palestinian land.

Prosecutors at the court launched an initial investigation into allegations made against Israel when the Palestinians joined the ICC in 2015. Tuesday's appointment allows that investigation to proceed to the next stage of a full investigation without needing to wait for a judge's approval.

Maliki said the request will give prosecutors the authority to investigate alleged crimes that began in 2014 and later, including the deaths that occurred last week during protests in Gaza.

"Through this judicial request, we want... the Prosecutor's Office to begin an investigation into all the crimes without delay," he told reporters after meeting with Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. "Further delaying justice for the Palestinian victims amounts to a denial of justice."

The ICC, which began operating in July 2002, is a last resort legal mechanism, only coming into action when a State proves unwilling or unable to investigate crimes within its own territory.