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The Palestinian command will demand the United Nations to set Israel a deadline for its occupation of Palestinian territory, as world leaders and Palestinian leadership continues to push for peace in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian leadership is willing “to go to the U.N. Security Council to enforce an end to the (Israeli) occupation”, Wasel Abu Yusef, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization said. On Sunday, Palestinian Labor minister Ahmad al-Majdalani also said that the leadership was “working towards… holding an international conference to set a timetable for an end to the occupation”. Neither of them gave details on a potential timeline or exactly when the demand will be presented.
Any such move is expected to be vetoed by the United States at the Security Council, which has traditionally opposed any step which seems to be anti-Israeli. However, the Palestinians are expected to fast-track an application to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the event of a US veto. Abu Yussef said.
“If the U.S. uses a veto, then we still have the ICC card”, he said.
Since obtaining non-member observer status in the UN in November 2012, Palestine has on multiple occasions said that they would take Israelis to the ICC over their engagements in the occupied territories. The ICC, based in The Hague, can prosecute anyone guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed since July 1st, 2002, when the Rome Statute, its founding treaty, came into force. The ICC can, however, prosecute only individuals and not states.
A state party can refer crimes inside the court’s jurisdiction to it for investigation; cases can also be referred to the court by the UN Security Council. The prosecutor can also initiate his investigations with the permission of the court’s judges. By joining the ICC, all Palestinian groups will also be open to the court’s actions.