Diplomacy: Can September place Israel on the ICC dock?

In the midst of everything else going on in Israel right now (see updates below that have been posted since late yesterday), we have a very timely and interesting take on the UN bid for a "PA State":



Diplomacy: Can September place Israel on the ICC dock



Palestinians are likely to lose their battle for full UN membership, but can still advance their cause by becoming an observer state.

If one wants to understand what could happen at the United Nations this September, one need look no further than the words of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a New York Times opinion piece from May.



“Palestine’s admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one,” Abbas wrote.

Hmmmm....So is THIS the end-game?

“It would also pave the way for us to pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations, human-rights treaty bodies and the International Court of Justice.”



if Palestinians seek a declaration of statehood through the General Assembly, they will likely win, as they already have the support of a majority of the 193- member body.



This step is important for the Palestinians who want to use these rights as an additional tool to push Israel to leave the West Bank.



Among the rights the Palestinians have sought, is the ability to purse Israelis legally for war crimes before the International Criminal Court, a right which they can exercise only if they are a state body.



The Palestinians, however, are hoping that in September they can make use of a small side step to expand their rights both at the United Nations and before the ICC.



To do this, they are likely to ask the UN General Assembly to upgrade their status from an “observer” to an “observer state” – a move that is independent of the UN Security Council and needs only the approval of a majority of the 193-member states.



They are hoping that an “observer state” status at the UN would strengthen their case before the ICC to be recognized as a state.



The upgrade to state observer, according to Al- Haq, “is nevertheless an important adjustment that would provide Palestine with further political leverage, and confirm its rights as a state within the UN system.”

This information represents a very interesting development and may give much more insight into what is really happening with this statehood bid.



A designation as "observer state" would give the PA a lot of political clout and could be used as a diplomatic hammer against Israel. The ICC could be brought into play, and actions against Israel could then be played out in the ICC arena which is guaranteed not to be favorable to Israel.



Things are happening at light speed right now in the Middle East. Stay tuned, there will be much more to come.