Palestine is one step closer to international recognition now that the state has gained observer status in the International Criminal Court.

Although the majority of nations do not recognize Palestine as a nation, its new status at the ICC will give Palestine future leverage, including the ability to pursue charges of crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court announced on Monday that Palestine had been granted observer status, according to Al Jazeera, inching the nation closer to full membership of the 122-nation war crimes court.

The court based in The Hague is the world's first treaty-based "independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes." The Rome Statue governs the court's actions and was signed by 122 nations. Neither the U.S. nor Russia have signed the treaty but are observer states.

As an observer nation, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas could decide to apply for membership.

According to The Telegraph, Israel warned Palestine against applying for membership at the court, which they say could be used against them as Palestine has previously threatened to pursue war crime charges against Israel.

Following the announcement, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. Riad Mansour said Palestine's new status "opened the door wide to drag leaders of the Israeli occupation to the dock of this court, so the souls of the victims can finally rest in piece".

However, Israel does not see it in the same way. A foreign ministry spokesperson, Emmanuel Nachshon, downplayed the news, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"We are not talking here about an upgrade," he said. "This is a technical and administrative step, nothing more than that. There is no substance."

Similarly the president of the ICC said the decision to grant Palestine observer status does not mean that Palestine would become a full member in the future.