Abbas: Palestinians to join ICC if UN push for IDF withdrawal from West Bank unsuccessful
Abbas says Palestinians could reexamine cooperation with Israel, will join ICC should attempt to get Israel to commit to withdrawl through UN fails.
The Palestinian Authority will join the International Criminal Court and possibly even cut ties with Israel if the UN Security Council does not pass a resolution setting a timeframe for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Wednesday.
The Palestinian leader issued his warning in front of a group of journalists, hours before Prime Minister Netanyahu was set to meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington.
"We started working in the Security Council to bring about the formation of a Palestinian state on the basis of 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said. "We want to set up a timeframe to end the occupation within a year, two years or three. We need a timeframe."
Related articles:
- Abbas at UN: Israel committed genocide in Gaza
- Netanyahu at UN: Hamas, Islamic State share the same fanatic ideology
- US condemns Abbas's UN speech as 'provocative'
He noted that the Palestinians also want direct talks with Israel, focusing mainly on delineating borders, as has been widely reported in recent months.
He said the draft for the Security Council would be ready within three weeks, and conceded that the Palestinians were aware of the fact that should the resolution pass, it would be vetoed by the US.
Abbas also admitted that the Palestinian relationship with the US has been strained in wake of the bid. "The atmosphere is very tense. We do not have any desire to escalate the situation, but we can backtrack on our decision to petition the Security Council."
He said that should the UN attempt fail, the Palestinian Authority would reexamine its relationship with Israel, in particular regarding security-related coordination, an issue over which Abbas has been recently facing mounting pressure. Ynet reported Wednesday that secret talks were being held between a high-ranking Israeli official and the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
Nonetheless, the Palestinian president exressed his opposition to renewed aggression in the West Bank, and even went as far as declaring that he would "not allow even a single bullet to be fired."
Secretary of State John Kerry met with Netanyahu in New York, and with Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni in Washington on Monday, but no details of these meetings emerged.
