Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Palestinians have "more to fear" than his country from their newly signed request to join the International Criminal Court.

"The Palestinian Authority has more to fear, having formed a government with Hamas, a known terrorist organisation and which like the Islamist State commits war crimes," Netanyahu said in a statement published by his office.

President Mahmud Abbas, who head the PA, earlier signed a Palestinian request to join the ICC, seeking a new avenue for action against Israel after a failed UN resolution on ending the occupation.