Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed documents to join a host of international organisations, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mr Abbas signed the documents at a meeting in the Palestinian capital of Ramallah, Al Jazeera reports.

The decision paves the way for Palestine to come under the jurisdiction of the ICC and for the ICC to then prosecute war crimes case against Israel for activities in Gaza or other Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians had been close to signing the Rome Statute for an extended period but had not yet done so due to fear over the potential reaction of the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

The Rome Statute enables the ICC, based in the Hague, to investigate allegations of war crimes and genocide.

Yesterday, the UN Security Council did not pass a resolution which looked to set a deadline on Israel ending its occupation of territories within three years. Abbas warned that a rejection of the resolution would see him resume his perusal of Palestinian membership of international bodies, such as the ICC.

The decision from Abbas to join the ICC is expected to receive a harsh response from Israel.