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Comment and Opinion

World Affairs: Will the Palestinians Take Israel to the ICC? Probably Not, by Prof Alan Johnson

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When the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hamas comes to an end, will the Palestinians turn again to international institutions to confront Israel? More specifically, having applied to 15 UN agencies and international treaties in April, will the PA now apply to the International Criminal Court?

Ever since Palestine secured “non-Member Observer State” status at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, that option has been open to President Mahmoud Abbas. It would be a popular move among many ordinary Palestinians and Western human rights activists. In May, 17 groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, implored the Palestinians to prosecute Israel at the International Criminal Court. “Twenty years of peace talks have brought neither peace nor justice,” said Joe Stork, of Human Rights Watch.

But in an astonishing admission this week, the Palestinian representative to the UN Human Rights Council, Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, suggested that things are not so simple. (Watch the YouTube clip here.)

You can read in the article in full at World Affairs.