Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Palestinians Join ICC, Charge Israel with Crimes; Move Irks Israel, Mars US-Palestinian Harmony

Stunned by a one-vote defeat yesterday in the UN Security Council in their effort to achieve  statehood, the Palestinians announced today (December 31, 2014) that they have joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue war crimes charges against Israel, the Washington Times website reports.

The move by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set the stage for a diplomatic showdown with the U.S. and drew an angry response from Israel.

"The one who needs to fear the International Criminal Court in the Hague is the Palestinian Authority, which has a unity government with Hamas, a terror organization like the Islamic State group which commits war crimes," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

U.S. State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said America strongly opposed the move and warned Palestinians it would be "counter-productive and do nothing to further the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a sovereign and independent state."

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