RAMALLAH, May 16, 2018 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas signed on Tuesday papers for the accession of Palestine to a number of international agencies, according to Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He told the official Palestine TV on Tuesday that President Abbas had taken a number of decisions, most notably the recall of the head of the PLO office in Washington, Ambassador Husam Zomlot, who is on his way back to Palestine.
He said Foreign Minister Riyad Malki signed in the presence of President Abbas the official referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and called on the Judicial Council and the Prosecutor General to open a judicial investigation of Israeli officials for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
He also said that the Palestinians are hoping the United Nations Security Council will provide them with international protection.
"We tried to get the UN Security Council to issue this evening a statement for a commission of inquiry into the Israeli crimes, but the US administration insisted on opposing that, and now, on behalf of the Arab Group, Kuwait introduced a resolution in the Security Council calling for the protection of the Palestinian people," said Erekat.
He said that Palestine’s representative to the Human Rights Council, Ibrahim Khreisheh, obtained 18 signatures to invite the Human Rights Council to meet on Friday to take a decision to send a fact-finding mission on the war crimes committed by Israel.
Erekat said that President Abbas has repeatedly stressed that US President Donald Trump is no longer a partner or mediator in any peace talks.
He accused the US representative to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, of becoming a spokeswoman for the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“When 62 unarmed martyrs are executed in their country and on their land, Haley condemns the victim and the executioner is exonerated,” he said. “This is a lowest level anyone can reach.”
In addition, he said, the US sends an ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who supported Israeli terrorist organizations listed as such on the US State Department’s terrorism list.
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