Hamas leaders said yesterday they had given their consent for the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that could open Israel and the militant group to war crime probes over fighting in Gaza.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader based in Cairo, said he had signed a document in which Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas says all factions must endorse before he proceeds with the ICC push. If the Palestinians were to sign the ICC's Rome Statute, the court would have jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestinian territories.