MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Ankara's lawsuit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no prospects, Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Alexander Ben Zvi said.

When asked whether such a lawsuit could get a move in the ICC, the Israeli dipomat gave a negative answer. "I think it's unbelievable, because it will immediately lead to similar lawsuits against other countries. I don't want to list them, but there could be several," he said during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast.

Earlier, several Turkish lawmakers and lawyers submitted a petition to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office asking it to send an application to the ICC against the Israeli prime minister. It said that Netanyahu "committed crimes against humanity, waged war and genocide before the eyes of the world," for which he should be tried at the ICC in accordance with international criminal laws.

Turkey cannot appeal to the ICC itself because Ankara is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. At the same time, Turkey can inform the prosecutor of the court in The Hague about crimes through governmental structures and non-governmental organizations.

The Rome Statute is the international treaty that established the ICC and is its statute. The court's mandate includes the prosecution of those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and acts of aggression. The ICC's jurisdiction extends to crimes committed after July 1, 2002, on the territory of a state party to the Rome Statute and to nationals of those states on the territory of any other state. If the state on whose territory the crime occurred is not a party to the Statute, or if its nationals are suspected of committing serious crimes, the UN Security Council may issue a mandate to initiate prosecutions. Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute. It was until 2002, but withdrew its signature.