Palestinians appealed to the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into Israel’s purported human rights violations and crimes at the Gaza border fence. 

By: World Israel News and AP

The Palestinian Authority foreign minister said Tuesday that he had asked the International Criminal Court ICC) to open an “immediate investigation” into alleged Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.

Israel rejected the request as “cynical” and “absurd.”

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said he submitted the “referral” to the court during a meeting with the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in The Hague on Tuesday.

Malki said the complaint seeks an investigation into Israeli policies in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), Gaza Strip and “East Jerusalem since the Palestinians joined the ICC in June 2014.

According to a Palestinian statement, the document that Malki handed to the court’s prosecutors underscores “that there is sufficient compelling evidence of the ongoing commission of grave crimes to warrant an immediate investigation.”

In response to Tuesday’s move at the ICC, Israel said it took a “severe view” of the Palestinian request, calling it a “cynical” and “absurd” step. Israel accused the Palestinians of violent incitement and of exploiting women and children as human shields. Furthermore, the response continued, the ICC had no jurisdiction in the case because Israel is not a member of the court.

“Israel expects the ICC and its prosecutor not to yield to Palestinian pressure and to stand firm against continued Palestinian efforts to politicize the court and to derail it from its mandate,” the Israeli statement said.

Israel is not a member of the ICC, but its citizens can be charged by the court if they are suspected of committing crimes on the territory or against a national of a country that is a member. The ICC has recognized “Palestine” as a member state.

The ICC has been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, including Israel’s settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Other Palestinian initiatives

The renewed PLO push at the ICC is just one of a number of Palestinian activities against Israel on the international stage over the past five days.

With the help of Kuwait, the PA has asked the United Nations Security Council to consider providing it with international protection. It also successfully swayed the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday to launch a commission of inquiry into the IDF killing of Palestinian protesters during violent riots on the Gaza border.

UN Human Rights Council Orders Probe

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday ordered a one-sided investigation into the IDF’s actions at the border, which only Israel and the United States opposed.

“This resolution entirely disregards Israel’s right and legal duty to defend its citizens,” charged Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Aviva Raz. Israel immediately declared that it would not cooperate with the inquiry.

The EU’s diplomatic chief, Federica Mogherini, has also called for an independent investigation into the use of live ammunition by Israel’s military.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, added his voice to calls for an independent investigation into Israeli fire last week after a doctor with Canadian citizenship was reportedly shot by the IDF.

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The Palestinians are reportedly following through with their threat to sever ties with the US after Washington orders closure of the PLO mission in the American capital.

By: World Israel News Staff and AP

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced it is freezing all ties with the US as a result of the  State Department’s announcement on Friday that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) can no longer operate its Washington office.  The US decision followed the Palestinian move to petition the  International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israelis for alleged crimes against Palestinians.  Washington says that the Palestinian action violated its legal mandate and resulted in the mission closure.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson determined that the Palestinians crossed that line in September, when Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas called on the court to investigate and prosecute Israelis, according to State Department officials. They weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Under the law, Trump now has 90 days to consider whether the Palestinians are in “direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.” If Trump determines they are, then the mission can reopen.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki told AFP on Tuesday that “by closing the office they (The US) are freezing all meetings and we are making that official.”

A PLO spokesman confirmed that it had received instructions from PA head Mahmoud Abbas “regarding closing down all communication lines with the Americans.”

Cutting off ties carries great risks for the Palestinians. It  raises questions about the veracity of the anticipated US Middle East peace plan. It could also antagonize the Trump administration and result in cancellation of US aide to the Palestinians.

Following the initial US announcement about the closure of the PLO office in Washington, the Israeli prime minister’s office issued a statement saying, “we respect the decision and look forward to continuing to work with the US to advance peace and security in the region.”

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Stressing complete support for the two-state solution, Johnson called for an end to Palestinian terrorism and Israeli “settlement” building. 

Meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in Ramallah on Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that his country continues to maintain unequivocal support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The policy of our government in the UK is absolutely unchanged,” Johnson said during discussions with PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki. “We remain committed to a two-state solution, to that vision, for the resolution of this conflict.”

“There is of course the need for the Israeli people to feel that they can live in security without the fear of terrorism and violence,” he continued. “But on the other hand, it’s vital too that obstacles such as the accelerating pace of settlement building, the accelerating pace of demolitions, which we also discussed, those are also the barriers in the path of a two-state solution, and we have to work to remove those barriers.”

Johnson made his remarks shortly after meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who extended an invitation to the British royal family to attend upcoming ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration.

The document, signed by then-Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour on November 2, 1917, originally supported “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” At the time of the document’s signing, the British mandate’s territory included the land that now belongs to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in addition to all the territory west of the Jordan River, including Judea and Samaria.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

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Apparently seeking an eternal war against Israel, Palestinian foreign Minister Al-Malki said the Palestinians will never again engage Israel in direct negotiations. 

Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Al-Malki stated Monday that the Palestinians will “never again” engage Israel in direct negotiations towards a final diplomatic resolution to their dispute with Israel.

“We will never go back and sit again in a direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,” he stated while on a visit to Japan with Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas.

He stressed that a multilateral framework is needed, and he praised unilateral international pressure on Israel, and specifically an initiative discussed last month by France to revive plans for an international conference to end the conflict and an anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council.

He also claimed that without international involvement a vacuum will be left that may be filled by the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

“If Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIS] take advantage of lack of any brokers … then of course, they might come and try to fill it,” he said according to AFP, adding that “this is very dangerous.”

Israel is more immediately worried about the Palestinian Hamas terror organization taking control of the PA in Judea and Samaria as they did in Gaza in 2007, and work jointly with the Palestinians to thwart such an development

“If the Americans are giving up and the Europeans don’t have the courage to do anything and Arabs are really worried about their own problems, what do you expect? Extremists around might take over,” he warned.

Abbas met on Monday with the Emperor of Japan, Akihito, in the Imperial Palace in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.

During the meeting, the two discussed the latest developments in the Middle East and the occupied Palestinian territories, the Palestinian foreign ministry stated.

Responding to the blunt statements, an unnamed official who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entourage in Berlin told Israel’s IDF Radio that “we know that peace will be obtained through direct negotiation. It appears that the Palestinians know this, and therefore don’t want it [direct negotiations].”

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