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Netanyahu warns Palestinians: Diplomatic warfare will ‘not go unanswered’

Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a stern warning to the Palestinians on Wednesday during a meeting with top US diplomats, saying diplomatic warfare against Israel “would not go unanswered.”

While meeting in Jerusalem with President Donald Trump’s special envoy Jason Greenblatt, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, the Israeli Prime Minister warned that the Palestinians’ diplomatic warfare against Israel “would not go unanswered.”

Greenblatt is on another visit to the region in an attempt to promote Trump’s regional peace initiative.

During the meeting, Netanyahu raised the issue of the Palestinians’ refusal to condemn Tuesday’s terrorist attack, in which a Palestinian murdered three Israelis and wounded a fourth at Har Adar. The prime minister also addressed the PLO’s call on Sunday to try Israelis before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, and the Palestinian accession to Interpol on Wednesday, a step which violates signed peace agreements with Israel.

Last week, the Palestinians sent a 700-page dossier to the ICC accusing Israel of war crimes.

Netanyahu told the three diplomats that the actions of the Palestinian leadership in recent days “severely impairs the chances of achieving peace.”

The Palestinians’ Diplomatic War Against Israel

With regard to “diplomatic warfare,” Netanyahu alluded to Palestinian efforts over the past few years to join several international bodies, such as the ICC, in an attempt to circumvent negotiations with Israel and unilaterally attain international recognition.

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Memberships in organizations such as these would provide new opportunities to challenge Israel’s legitimacy and besmirch the Jewish state on global stages. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has launched a diplomatic campaign against Israel and has been utilizing these forums as a platform for that purpose.

With regard to Interpol, Israel is concerned that the Palestinians might abuse their membership and use Interpol as a platform from which to undermine the Jewish state, including potential demands to extradite Israeli officials or pursue other legal action against them, based on the Palestinian argument that Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria is a “crime.”

Israel also suspects that the Palestinians’ support for terrorism could hinder Interpol’s efforts to fight such violence.

Earlier this month, the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) turned down a request by the PA to join the organization as a member state.

After the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) accepted “Palestine,” it has devolved into a virulently anti-Israel body.

By: World Israel News Staff