Abbas: We will not negotiate on our right to join ICC

[Jefferson23]

Thursday, 05 February 2015

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas criticised Israel for withholding Palestinian tax revenue so as to "bargain" with the Palestinians over their bid to join the International Criminal Court.

This came in a speech he gave during the opening ceremony of the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation's new building in Ramallah. The ceremony was attended by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah as well as other officials, governors, journalists and leading figures representing different Palestinian factions.

"We are committed to peaceful negotiations," Abbas said. "If we decide to resist... we adopt peaceful resistance. And we know that the other side [Israel] does not acknowledge the necessity of peace."

"We said that if the Palestinian bid at the Security Council was thwarted, we would go to other international organisations, including the International Criminal Court. Then Israel is now bullying us by withholding the funds that it collects in our name and takes a percentage of," he added.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/16804-abbas-we-will-not-negotiate-on-our-right-to-join-icc

[azurnoir]

1. an interesting analysis as to how and why Israel withholds Palestines tax money from The Hill

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/231493-how-israel-gets-to-cut-off-palestines-revenue

[Jefferson23]

2. Israeli policy at its finest..controlling the screws.

Here we have the added benefit of useless condemnation:

( EU, US ) *they would do better to challenge the grander Israeli strategy instead of focusing on the symptoms of the problem and losing sight of the forest for the trees.


Thank you for that, it is a good read.

[Jefferson23]

3. If this is accurate, what did Abbas gain for his people? Or will gain in any alleged

"peace deal"?

Hamas: PA gave Israel nearly a third of its Gaza targets

Read more: Hamas: PA gave Israel nearly a third of its Gaza targets |
http://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-gave-israel-nearly-a-third-of-its-gaza-targets/

[Jefferson23]

4. Palestinian president establishes central authority for ICC claims

The committee will be responsible for the preparation and submission of all Palestinian claims regarding alleged war crimes by Israel.

By Jack Khoury 07.02.15

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday signed an order establishing a central authority to handle all Palestinian applications to the International Criminal Court in The Hague regarding alleged war crimes by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority applied to join the court at the end of last year and is expected to receive full membership by early April.

According to the presidential decree signed on Saturday, a national committee will be responsible for providing all the documentation required by the ICC and for managing communication with the court, including coordination with
professional elements in both Gaza and the West Bank.

The committee will coordinate the work of the lawyers and legal advisers representing Palestinian families before the court. It will also be responsible for creating explanatory material and coordinating the authority’s international public relations effort.

The committee is headed by former chief peace negotiator Saeb Erakat. Its members include prominent Palestinians representing all political factions, including Nabil Sha’ath, Hanan Ashrawi and Mustafa Bargouti. Hamas is represented by Ghazi Hamad.

It also includes legal and political advisers from Abbas’ bureau, the heads of human rights organizations active in the West Bank and Gaza, representatives of the security services and representatives of the Palestinian media.

“We will also need advice from external and international elements,” said a senior Palestinian official. “It is a very complex undertaking, covering the preparation of documents, the collection of evidence and a lot of other field work.”

The committee will have several sub-committees dealing with specific issues, such as events in Gaza, settlements and East Jerusalem. The work involved in its creation has been in progress for several weeks.

Abbas allocated a budget to the committee and demand that it provide regular accounting and progress reports.


http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.641284