ICC prosecutor asked to visit Gaza as soon as possible

The Arab Group at the United Nations has asked International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan to visit Gaza as soon as possible, said Riyad Mansour, Palestine's ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

"We met yesterday (Tuesday) also with Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the ICC, and we had a very frank and intense discussion. We urged him to visit, as soon as possible, the Gaza Strip, and to see with his own eyes, the tragedy that the Palestinian people are going through and to see the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people," Mansour told reporters together with representatives of the Arab Group.

"We emphasized the need for him to make the issue of children -- the 6,000 or 7,000 killed and the many thousands that could be under the rubble -- as a centerpiece of his activities," he said.

Mansour said the Arab Group also wanted Khan to speak clearly about international humanitarian law and to expedite investigations into violations.