Saturday 3 January 2015

US Threatens Palestinians after Move to Join ICC



Posted on January 2, 2015

Palestinians delivered documents Friday to join the International Criminal Court and other international treaties.

A senior official with the U.S. State Department stated on Friday that any further steps by the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) will have implications for U.S. aid to the beleaguered people.

“It should come as no surprise that there will be implications for this step, but we continue to review,” said the official.

On Friday, Palestinians delivered documents on joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties to U.N. headquarters . The chief Palestinian observer at the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, and U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed the handover of the diplomatic documents at the world body’s headquarters.

The Hague-based court looks at cases of severe war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as genocide. According to regulations, once documents have been submitted, the Palestinians will become a party to the court on the first day of the month that follows a 60-day waiting period.

It is widely expected that the Palestinians will seek to have Israel investigated for war crimes should it be accepted as a member of the ICC.

“This is a very significant step,” Mansour said. “It is an option that we are seeking in order to seek justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power.”
Mansour said the Palestinians have also formally requested retroactive ICC jurisdiction “with regard to the crimes committed during the last war in Gaza,” referring to Israel’s 50-day assault on the Gaza Strip this past summer where more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed.

Under U.S. law, aid would be cut off if the Palestinians used membership in the International Criminal Court to make claims against Israel.

The U.S. State Department has previously attempted to use the withdrawal of aid in order to try to coerce Palestinians. In 2006, the U.S. suspended much of its aid after Hamas won parliamentary elections. Washington sends about US$400 million in economic support aid to the Palestinians every year.

After repeatedly being frustrated by the intransigence of Israel, the Palestinian leadership has opted to pursue of policy of seeking international recognition independent of a negotiated peace process. Palestinian President Abbas succeeded in a bid for de facto recognition of Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in 2012, which made Palestinians eligible to join the ICC.

RELATED
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

No comments: