In response to the Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court, pro-Israel members of Congress are threatening to cut off U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. gives the PA about $500 million annually, and U.S. law states most of it will be cut off if the PA initiates an investigation targeting Israel at the ICC. But analysts say that it is unlikely the U.S. will, in fact, cut off aid, since it would be a blow to the PA’s economic standing and could destabilize the authority’s rule.
The US said it was “deeply troubled” by the Palestinian move to join the ICC, and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called it a threat to the “most moral army in the world,” but Palestinian activists have embraced the initiative as a new chapter in Palestinian resistance to occupation
A day after begin rebuffed by the UN Security Council on a bid to end the occupation, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has surprised the world by signing the Rome Statute, to be able to bring charges against Israel to the International Criminal Court. The US and Netanyahu seethe.
Today, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the body will not be prosecuting Israel for the deadly attack on humanitarian passengers of the Mavi Marmara although she has reason to believe that war crimes were committed by Israel. In a statement Bensouda said the case is not “of ‘sufficient gravity’ to justify further action.”
In a leaked recording released this week, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat slammed Palestinian president…
Rashid Khalidi said today that the US opposition to the reunification of Palestinian parties exposes…