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| Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signs up to ICC, paving way for Israel war crimes probe | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has initiated a request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a long-pondered and risky step his aides say is aimed at holding Israel accountable for alleged war crimes in the occupied territories. | The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has initiated a request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a long-pondered and risky step his aides say is aimed at holding Israel accountable for alleged war crimes in the occupied territories. |
| The move, taken a day after the failure of a Palestinian security council bid to end the occupation by 2017, raised tensions with Israel and was sharply condemned by the US, which had also opposed the security council effort for not taking into account, in Washington’s view, Israel’s security needs. | The move, taken a day after the failure of a Palestinian security council bid to end the occupation by 2017, raised tensions with Israel and was sharply condemned by the US, which had also opposed the security council effort for not taking into account, in Washington’s view, Israel’s security needs. |
| In a quick response to the setback, Mr Abbas signed the Rome Statute, the guiding document of the ICC, during a meeting with Palestinian leaders in which he also signed accession to 21 other treaties and international organisations. “They attack our land every day – to whom are we to complain? The security council let us down – where are we to go? To the international organisations.’’ | In a quick response to the setback, Mr Abbas signed the Rome Statute, the guiding document of the ICC, during a meeting with Palestinian leaders in which he also signed accession to 21 other treaties and international organisations. “They attack our land every day – to whom are we to complain? The security council let us down – where are we to go? To the international organisations.’’ |
| Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Mr Abbas, said the President signed in order to ‘‘ensure the protection and advance the rights of our people. There must be accountability and those who are concerned about courts should stop committing crimes.’’ | Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Mr Abbas, said the President signed in order to ‘‘ensure the protection and advance the rights of our people. There must be accountability and those who are concerned about courts should stop committing crimes.’’ |
| Shawan Jabarin, the director of the Ramallah-based al-Haq human-rights group, hailed Mr Abbas’s move as “groundbreaking’’ even though accession to the ICC is not automatic and it could take months for the application to be processed. | Shawan Jabarin, the director of the Ramallah-based al-Haq human-rights group, hailed Mr Abbas’s move as “groundbreaking’’ even though accession to the ICC is not automatic and it could take months for the application to be processed. |
| “This makes it possible for the ICC to prosecute and punish those responsible for serious crimes. The court can erase the immunity Israel has afforded its soldiers and officers. There is no doubt this will fundamentally change the way Israel carries out its occupation. If the prosecutor’s office issues warrants, the Europeans will have to follow that up and arrest suspects. It is time that this was done.’’ | “This makes it possible for the ICC to prosecute and punish those responsible for serious crimes. The court can erase the immunity Israel has afforded its soldiers and officers. There is no doubt this will fundamentally change the way Israel carries out its occupation. If the prosecutor’s office issues warrants, the Europeans will have to follow that up and arrest suspects. It is time that this was done.’’ |
| But the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it is the Palestinians who should fear war-crimes prosecutions. “We will take steps in response and defend the soldiers of the Israel Defence Force, the most moral army in the world. The Palestinian Authority has more to fear having formed a government with Hamas, a known terrorist organisation and which like the Islamic State commits war crimes.’’ | But the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it is the Palestinians who should fear war-crimes prosecutions. “We will take steps in response and defend the soldiers of the Israel Defence Force, the most moral army in the world. The Palestinian Authority has more to fear having formed a government with Hamas, a known terrorist organisation and which like the Islamic State commits war crimes.’’ |
| Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to convene a meeting tomorrow to weigh the Israeli response to the move. Given that an election campaign is under way and that he is in competition with the far-right Jewish Home party for votes, he may feel the need to respond sharply to Mr Abbas’s move either with plans for new settlement construction or possibly the suspension of transfers of tax revenues Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority that are essential for its economic viability. | Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to convene a meeting tomorrow to weigh the Israeli response to the move. Given that an election campaign is under way and that he is in competition with the far-right Jewish Home party for votes, he may feel the need to respond sharply to Mr Abbas’s move either with plans for new settlement construction or possibly the suspension of transfers of tax revenues Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority that are essential for its economic viability. |
| Among the other treaties Mr Abbas signed were the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. | Among the other treaties Mr Abbas signed were the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. |