PLO Says It Will Seek Action in UNSC, General Assembly and ICC

PLO ask government to begin devising plans to disengage from the Israeli occupation authorities – PNN

Ramallah, MINA – The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decided in its meeting in Ramallah on Saturday evening to seek action against the Israeli occupation in the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly and the International Criminal Court (ICC), WAFA reported.

The Executive Committee said in a statement following the meeting chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas that it asked the government to begin devising plans to disengage from the Israeli occupation authorities at the political, security, economic and administrative levels and to submit these plans to the Executive Committee for approval.

The plans will also define security relations between the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation and will seek to free the Palestinians from the constraints of the Paris Economic Protocol, the PLO Executive Committee said.

The Executive Committee also decided to form a higher committee to implement the decisions of the Palestinian Central Council, including the decision to suspend the recognition of the State of Israel until the latter recognizes the ICC, State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, repeals the decision to annex East Jerusalem and halts settlement activities.

Further, the Executive Committee decided to request the ICC to start a judicial inquiry into Israeli settlements, racial discrimination and the ongoing ethnic cleansing in and around Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and the area south of Hebron.

The Executive Committee said the aim of this request is to hold Israeli politicians and military and security officials accountable and bring them before international justice in accordance with the Rome Statute of the ICC, which considers settlements as a war crime.

It said this is also in line with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying power from transferring its citizens to the territory under its occupation.

The PLO Executive Committee stressed its determination to implement the decision of the Palestinian Central Council that rejected the policies of US President Donald Trump on Jerusalem and called on the US administration to reconsider its policy and stop dealing with the Palestinian side with “dictates.”

The Executive Committee condemned the allegations made by US Vice President Mike Pence during his speech before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, last month and called on the US administration to stop the hate speech which denies the historical existence of the Palestinian Arab people in Palestine.

President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to address the UN Security Council on February 20 during which he will reiterate his commitment for a peaceful settlement with Israel based on establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)