Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
The Palestinians have accepted an official observer status at the International Criminal Court organization body at the United Nations in New York. The body consisting of 122 nations unanimously recognized “Palestine” as an observer state for the summit meeting.
The decision was for a two-week meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. The president of the Assembly announced the invitation of the “State of Palestine” with 122 nations not objecting to the notion.
She stated on the decision, “The assembly takes the following decisions on procedure independently and without prejudice to decisions taken for other purposes, including the decisions of any other organization or any organ of the court concerning legal matters before it. At the same time I recall that Rule 94 of the rules of procedures states that at the beginning of every session of the assembly the president, subject to the adoption of the assembly, may invite states which are not parties to the Rome Statute and which have not signed the final act nor the statute to attend the assembly proceeding.”
The decision does not mean the Palestinians will receive permanent status, unlike the United Nations General Assembly accepting “Palestine” as a non-Member Observer State in 2012.
On the decision, Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour stated that the recognition is “a further enhancement of our status” as an independent state as well as “another step in the process” in reference to the Palestinians intensions and threats to continue to pursue pressing accusations and sue Israel for war crimes if their draft proposal calling for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank based on 1967 borders before the United Nations Security Council.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to continue to pursue joining the ICC if the proposal does not pass, as well as to discontinue security cooperation with Israel.
The draft proposal will not pass, as the United States has been clear it will use its veto power in the Security Council and will continue to push for resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Photo credit: “Netherlands, The Hague, International Criminal Court” by Vincent van Zeijst – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish Christian, is the founder and president of Behold Israel, a news site to correct the scarcity in trustworthy reportage on issues and events impacting Israel, and to resolve the uncertainty about who or what to believe.
