SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority signed papers Wednesday to join the International Criminal Court. (Photo: Olivier Pacteau/flickr/cc)
Paving Way for War Crimes Charges, Palestinians Move to Join International Criminal Court
Following defeat of UN Security Council resolution, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signs on to Rome Statute
Dec 31, 2014
Following the defeat of a United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli occupation and recognition of Palestinian statehood, Palestine's president Mahmoud Abbas signed a Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, a move that the Guardian wrote sets "Palestinians on a diplomatic collision course with Israel and the U.S."
"There is aggression practiced against our land and our country, and the Security Council has let us down--where shall we go?" Mr. Abbas reportedly said at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as he signed the Rome Statute, the founding charter of the Hague court, as well as over a dozen other international treaties and conventions.
"We want to complain to this organization," he said, referring to the court. "As long as there is no peace, and the world doesn't prioritize peace in this region, this region will live in constant conflict. The Palestinian cause is the key issue to be settled."
As expected, the decision elicited an angry response from Israel. "The one who needs to fear the International Criminal Court in the Hague is the Palestinian Authority, which has a unity government with Hamas, a terror organization like (the Islamic State group) which commits war crimes," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, Netanyahu called Israel's soldiers "the most moral army in the world" and said the country would take unspecified "retaliatory steps."
The AP noted that "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."
The State Department criticized the move as well. In a statement issued Wednesday, it said it was "deeply troubled by today's Palestinian action regarding the ICC," and called it "an escalatory step that will not achieve any of the outcomes most Palestinians have long hoped to see for their people."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Following the defeat of a United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli occupation and recognition of Palestinian statehood, Palestine's president Mahmoud Abbas signed a Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, a move that the Guardian wrote sets "Palestinians on a diplomatic collision course with Israel and the U.S."
"There is aggression practiced against our land and our country, and the Security Council has let us down--where shall we go?" Mr. Abbas reportedly said at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as he signed the Rome Statute, the founding charter of the Hague court, as well as over a dozen other international treaties and conventions.
"We want to complain to this organization," he said, referring to the court. "As long as there is no peace, and the world doesn't prioritize peace in this region, this region will live in constant conflict. The Palestinian cause is the key issue to be settled."
As expected, the decision elicited an angry response from Israel. "The one who needs to fear the International Criminal Court in the Hague is the Palestinian Authority, which has a unity government with Hamas, a terror organization like (the Islamic State group) which commits war crimes," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, Netanyahu called Israel's soldiers "the most moral army in the world" and said the country would take unspecified "retaliatory steps."
The AP noted that "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."
The State Department criticized the move as well. In a statement issued Wednesday, it said it was "deeply troubled by today's Palestinian action regarding the ICC," and called it "an escalatory step that will not achieve any of the outcomes most Palestinians have long hoped to see for their people."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Following the defeat of a United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli occupation and recognition of Palestinian statehood, Palestine's president Mahmoud Abbas signed a Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, a move that the Guardian wrote sets "Palestinians on a diplomatic collision course with Israel and the U.S."
"There is aggression practiced against our land and our country, and the Security Council has let us down--where shall we go?" Mr. Abbas reportedly said at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as he signed the Rome Statute, the founding charter of the Hague court, as well as over a dozen other international treaties and conventions.
"We want to complain to this organization," he said, referring to the court. "As long as there is no peace, and the world doesn't prioritize peace in this region, this region will live in constant conflict. The Palestinian cause is the key issue to be settled."
As expected, the decision elicited an angry response from Israel. "The one who needs to fear the International Criminal Court in the Hague is the Palestinian Authority, which has a unity government with Hamas, a terror organization like (the Islamic State group) which commits war crimes," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, Netanyahu called Israel's soldiers "the most moral army in the world" and said the country would take unspecified "retaliatory steps."
The AP noted that "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."
The State Department criticized the move as well. In a statement issued Wednesday, it said it was "deeply troubled by today's Palestinian action regarding the ICC," and called it "an escalatory step that will not achieve any of the outcomes most Palestinians have long hoped to see for their people."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.