Israel's prime minister on Sunday hailed what he called efforts by friendly states to stop the International Criminal Court opening an investigation into alleged war crimes against Palestinians.

The court's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in December there was enough evidence for an investigation into thousands of killings – but asked the court to rule on whether it had the jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories.

Brazil, Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia have asked the court over the past two weeks to let them file "amicus brief" opinions on the case, ICC records show.

Some, including Germany, said they would argue the court's jurisdiction did not extend to the Palestinian territories, backing the same argument made by Israel. 

Germany is one of the main member states of the Hague Tribunal and its position on the issue is expected to play a significant role in the hearings. "Germany holds the view that only States can become a party to the Rome Statute and does not include 'Palestine' on the list of State Parties published in the Federal Gazette," Germany's petition with the ICC read.

Brazil said it would argue that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis should be resolved through political dialogue, not a court ruling.

Netanyahu told his cabinet countries had responded to Israeli lobbying over the case. "We are struggling against this (proceeding) and, at our side, I must say, are many friends around the world (which) joined the U.S. in a steadfast stand alongside Israel.”

The Palestinians were accepted as an ICC member in 2015 after they signed the court's founding Rome Statute, based on their United Nations "observer state" status.

Israel and the United States, neither of them ICC members, dispute the court's jurisdiction in the absence of a sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem. While Israel is not inclined to formally take part in such deliberations because its participation would be perceived as legitimizing the ICC and its procedures, it has requested that a hearing be held to examine the ICC's jurisdiction to probe its treatment of the Palestinians.

The Organization for Islamic Cooperation, representing 57 Muslim states, asked to file a brief, arguing that the Palestinians have sovereignty over the Palestinian territories.

Israeli airliners begin overflying Sudan

Israeli commercial planes have started overflying Sudan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, casting the new air corridor as the result of a breakthrough meeting with the African Muslim country's de-facto leader this month.

Khartoum said on February 5 it had given Israeli planes initial approval to fly over its territory, two days after Sudan's military head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met Netanyahu in Uganda.

"Now we're discussing rapid normalization. The first Israeli airplane passed yesterday over the skies of Sudan," Netanyahu said in a speech to U.S. Jewish leaders, saying the route cut some three hours off flights from Israel to South America.

Sudan, mindful of pro-Palestinian sensitivities, has stopped short of saying it is normalizing ties with Israel.

Israel previously considered Sudan a security threat because it suspected Iran used Sudan as a conduit for overland smuggling of munitions to the Gaza Strip. In 2009, regional sources said, Israeli aircraft bombed an arms convoy in Sudan.

The corridor described by Netanyahu would also take planes over Egypt, which made peace with Israel in 1979, and Chad, which in 2018 restored long-severed relations with Israel.

Read more: Israel and Sudan set the stage for normalizing relations

(With input from Reuters)