In this file photo taken Tuesday, April 29, 2014, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with Palestinian businessmen from East Jerusalem to set up a national fund to support the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photos)
Ramallah, AP—Stung by a resounding defeat in the UN Security Council, the Palestinians announced Wednesday that they joined the International Criminal Court to pursue war crimes charges against Israel.
The move by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set the stage for a diplomatic showdown with the United States and was likely to draw an angry response from Israel.
Abbas has been under heavy domestic pressure to take action against Israel following months of tensions fueled by the collapse of US-brokered peace talks, a 50-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets and Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access to a key Muslim holy site in Jerusalem. Tuesday’s defeat in the UN Security Council further raised pressure on Abbas to act.
“We want to complain. There’s aggression against us, against our land. The Security Council disappointed us,” Abbas said as he gathered a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank.
Abbas had threatened to join the international court if Tuesday’s Security Council resolution failed. The Palestinians had asked the council to set a three-year deadline for Israel to withdraw from all occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians.
After two decades of failed, on-again, off-again peace talks, the Palestinians have grown disillusioned and decided to seek international recognition of their independence in the absence in various global bodies. While the campaign does not change the situation on the ground, the Palestinians believe the strong international support will put pressure on Israel to allow the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
Israel, which captured the three areas in 1967, says Palestinian independence can only be reached through negotiations. It opposes the Palestinian diplomatic campaign as an attempt to bypass negotiations.
The Palestinian campaign scored a major victory in 2012 when Palestine was admitted to the UN General Assembly as a nonmember observer state. This upgraded status gave the Palestinians the authority to join dozens of international treaties and agencies.
Still, turning to the International Criminal Court marks a major policy shift by transforming Abbas’ relations with Israel from tense to openly hostile. Abbas has been threatening to join the court since 2012, but held off under American and Israeli pressure. The Palestinians can use the court to challenge the legality of Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands and to pursue war crimes charges connected to military activity.
There was no immediate Israeli reaction.
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.
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