Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday Dec 31,2014 has signed the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, at a Ramallah meetingto join the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Membership could see the Palestinians pursue Israel on war crimes charges, and the move was quickly condemned by Israel's prime minister.
It follows the rejection of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories by late 2017
Eight members of the 15-strong Security Council voted for that resolution, while the US and Australia voted against
Less than 24 hours after the Palestinian Authority failed to bring about a UN vote to end the Israeli occupation, President Mahmoud Abbas has made good on his promise of a different approach: joining the International Criminal Court, and threatening Israel with charges of war crimes.
The resolution, condemned by Israel as a "gimmick", needed the support of at least nine members in order to pass
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded quickly, saying Israel would take "steps in response and defend Israel's soldiers".
Israel, which is not a member of the ICC and does not recognise its jurisdiction, says joining the court would expose the Palestinians to prosecution.
"It is the Palestinian Authority - which is in a unity government with Hamas, an avowed terrorist organisation that, like ISIS, perpetrates war crimes - that needs to be concerned about the International Criminal Court in the Hague,"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
No comments:
Post a Comment