Interpol admits Palestinian Authority despite unfulfilled membership requirements

Interpol’s general assembly overwhelmingly approved the PA’s entry by 75-24 this morning, clearing the way for the commencement of Palestinian ‘lawfare’ arrests warrants on Israeli politicians, IDF soldiers and assorted dignitaries traveling outside of Israel.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The Palestinian Authority was admitted into the world policing organization Interpol as a member state Wednesday, frustrating efforts by Israel and the US to pressure the organization’s Executive Committees to block the move before it reached the general assembly.

Abbas addresses UNGA 2016 – Screenshot UN YouTube

Israel had hoped Interpol’s Executive Committee, which sets the general assembly’s agenda, would decide not to put the Palestinian request on the docket on the grounds that “Palestine” is not a state according to Interpol’s own parameters.

However, the committee failed to act on the request and the matter was brought before the general assembly, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of acceding to the PA’s application.

Prior to the vote, the general assembly discussed what its criteria were for new membership and whether they accorded Palestinians eligibility to join.

With Palestinian entry, Israel fears the PA use its new status to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.

Moreover, Jerusalem has voiced another central concern that the Palestinian delegation will now be privy to sensitive classified information regarding terrorism and its financing, which may then leak to Hamas or Fatah.

The Americans aggressively pursued efforts to deny the Palestinians accession to Interpol on the premise that such a unilateral move risks making it increasingly difficult to jumpstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process again.

Two weeks ago the Americans were successful in convincing the Palestinians to withdraw their request to be a member state of the UN’s World Tourism Organization, albeit after threatening the closure of Fatah’s Washington offices.

Palestinians claimed a decisive victory after the general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of acceding to their application by 75 state out of the 133 states who participated in the secret ballot. Only 24 states voted against the Palestinian accession while 34 states abstained.

 

View original Ynet publication at:
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5021742,00.html