The Palestinian Authority is not a country, but rather a group allied with a terrorist organization, and for that reason its appeal to the International Criminal Court should be rejected out of hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Netanyahu’s comment came at the end of an inter-ministerial meeting he convened in Tel Aviv to discuss ways to combat the Palestinian Authority’s signing of the Rome Statute and its intention of bringing Israelis to the court on war crimes charges.
“We expect the International Criminal Court to completely reject the hypocritical act by the Palestinian Authority, because the Palestinian Authority is not a state. It is an entity in an alliance with a terrorist organization, Hamas, that commits war crimes...”Israel, Netanyahu said, is by contrast a “law abiding state with a moral army that upholds international law.”
Israel, he promised, would defend the IDF’s soldiers, “just as they defend us.”
The participants at the meeting discussed ways to respond to the Palestinian move, though no operative decisions were announced.
Among the proposals was for Israel to back civil suits by victims of terrorism around the world against the PA – and demand monetary damages – for supporting terrorism.
Such suits have successfully been brought against Iran and Syria.
The PA ...on Thursday delivered applications to join 20 international organizations and treaties to UN official James Rawley.
...If the Palestinians do take Israel to the [ICC], they stand to face blowback not only from Israel, but from the US – which condemned the application – as well.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) warned the PA that the “recent appropriations bill signed into law will restrict US funding if the PA attempts to initiate an investigation through the ICC.” The US provides more than $400 million in annual aid to the PA.
Annual appropriations legislation for the funds given the PA includes a clause saying that no economic support will be allowed if the PA initiates “an International Criminal Court judicially authorized investigation, or actively support[s] such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.” ...
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