Palestinian Authority Accuses Israel of International Law Violations, Plans Legal Action
The Palestinian Authority's Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accuses Israel of breaking international law and declares intentions to bring the matter before the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice
Speaking to the Foreign Press Association in Ramallah on Thursday, Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accused Israel of violating international law and said that the PA planned to address the issue in the International Criminal Court.
It was only logical and responsible for the Palestinian leadership to seek to activate international mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people and end violations against them
“It was only logical and responsible for the Palestinian leadership to seek to activate international mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people and end violations against them,” Maliki said of the decision to bring a case to the International Criminal Court and to the International Court of Justice.
He called on the international community to address Israel’s “systematic violations of international law, including relevant UN resolutions.”
“What we are facing is the inability and ineffectiveness of the international community to show muscles and to behave as we expect them to,” he said. He urged the UN Security Council to “take its own mandate and responsibility to protect peace and security and to provide protection for the Palestinian people.”
Maliki attributed the increasing violence to Israeli policy. “The present extremist Israeli government has actively pursued its aggressive annexationism agenda, resulting in devastating consequences,” he said. “Palestinian citizens have been tragically lost almost on a daily basis since the beginning of the year.”
Responding to a question from The Media Line about reports of an impending normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Maliki said that US promotion of the deal is meant to counteract China’s influence in the Middle East.
“It seems that President [Joe] Biden is taking this issue seriously to counterbalance the rapprochement towards China, and it’s very clear he wants to cut short any rapprochement between the Saudis and even the Israelis towards China by moving forward with normalization,” he said.
China has become more involved in Middle East diplomacy in recent years. In March, China brokered a deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore relations, which had been suspended since 2016.
President Biden dispatched three of his top advisors to Riyadh last week for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Their goal was to “discuss bilateral and regional matters, including initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East region interconnected with the world,” the White House said.
Riyadh has maintained its position that it will not fully normalize ties with Israel until a two-state solution is reached.
I hope the Saudis will stick to that position and not yield to any kind of pressure, intimidation coming from the Biden Administration
Maliki did not say whether the PA had been in direct communication with Saudi Arabia regarding normalization, but he appeared confident that Saudi Arabia would continue to promote the Arab Peace Initiative and would not normalize relations with Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people.
The Arab Peace Initiative, also known as the Saudi Initiative, was proposed by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at the 2002 Arab League Summit in Beirut. The initiative, which was endorsed unanimously by the Arab League, proposed a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and full normalization of relations between Arab countries and Israel in exchange for full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, as well as resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue according to UN General Assembly Resolution 194.
“I hope the Saudis will stick to that position and not yield to any kind of pressure, intimidation coming from the Biden Administration,” Maliki said.
Maliki expressed disappointment in’s the US president’s apparent lack of interest in restarting peace talks between Israel and the PA. The PA had expected President Biden to live up to his promises to reverse many of former President Donald Trump’s decisions, but “unfortunately we did not see that happen,” he said.
Palestinians were relieved when Joe Biden won the election against Trump, who, as president, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, suspended financial aid to the PA, closed the US consulate in East Jerusalem, and shuttered the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington.
“He’s not really willing to take any kind of steps, because he doesn’t want to engage in a situation where he doesn’t have fully secured success,” Maliki said of President Biden. He said that the president’s support of the Palestinians has been limited to renewing financial support to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and increasing support for Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem.
The Biden Administration did not appoint a special envoy to the Middle East peace process, nor did it present a peace plan of its own.
Maliki warned that the lack of a political horizon will lead to further escalation of violence and a deterioration of the situation overall.
