PA fails in Interpol bid
After two humiliating setbacks on the international stage, Israel has managed to mobilise the backing it needed to avoid a third – to the dismay of the Palestinians.
After two humiliating setbacks on the international stage, Israel has managed to mobilise the backing it needed to avoid a third – to the dismay of the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority’s attempt to join Interpol, the international police alliance, fell flat on Tuesday after member states voted against the membership request. This was a blow to the Palestinians after they just succeeded in passing two resolutions at UNESCO that strongly criticise Israel, and also airbrush out Jerusalem’s Jewish history.
The Palestinian Authority believes that if it gets enough international bodies to treat it like a state and grant it privileges normally reserved for states, it may provide a shortcut to statehood and cut out the need for negotiations with Israel.
Jerusalem viewed the Palestinian push for Interpol membership as part of this strategy, and put heavy pressure on other countries to keep it out of the organisation. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that the vote against the Palestinians, which took place at an Interpol conference in Bali, was “an accomplishment and a triumph of Israeli diplomacy”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the vote “reflects what I have been telling you is happening, which is a change in Israel’s international standing and an expansion of our ties with different countries”.
He said that he expects to see other Palestinian attempts to leverage the power of international bodies to promote an exclusively Palestinian narrative. “But I have no doubt about the general, long-term trend – Israel is bursting onto the global scene, and this will ultimately be reflected in all UN and international bodies.”
Despite Netanyahu’s optimism, as The AJN went to press, United Nations committees were in session, voting on 10 resolutions that criticise Israel. Most were expected to pass the committees, ready for approval by the UN’s General Assembly next month.
It also became clear this week that Israel is about to face new international pressures, after France’s Foreign Ministry said that it hopes to hold a conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace in the next two months, attended by various nations.
Israel is resolute that it won’t attend the conference, fearing that it will turn into an occasion for international players to unite in criticism of Jerusalem’s policies and try to dictate the terms of a peace deal.
Only direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will solve the conflict, Netanyahu said, claiming, “Any other initiative, including this [French] one, will only distance peace from the region.”
NATHAN JEFFAY
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