AJC Denounces Palestinian Move for ICC Membership

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Dec 31, 2014, 03:49 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC denounced Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's application for International Criminal Court (ICC) membership as an unconscionable blow to the peace process.

Abbas announced today at a Ramallah rally celebrating the 50^th anniversary of his Fatah party that he had signed the Rome Statute, the ICC founding treaty, a day after the PA had failed to garner the nine votes needed for the UN Security Council to adopt a Palestinian resolution.

"Mahmoud Abbas has done his utmost to sabotage the path to a sustainable two-state solution," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "In the eight months since Abbas tragically walked away from U.S.-sponsored direct peace talks with Israel, Palestinian leadership has energetically sought to internationalize the conflict, sideline Israel, resort to incitement, and antagonize the United States. This Palestinian strategy is a surefire prescription for extended conflict, not for peace."

Commenting on the Palestinian gambit, a U.S. State Department official said: "Today's action is entirely counter-productive and does nothing to further the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a sovereign and independent state. It badly damages the atmosphere with the very people with whom they ultimately need to make peace."

"The one and only path to sustainable peace is direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," said Harris. "Abbas must be held accountable for taking repeated actions that set back the peace process. No doubt, the White House and Congress will be evaluating our relations with the Palestinian Authority, as they should. Actions have consequences."

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee