Palestinian focus on isolating Israel, continuing ICC efforts
With Palestine joining the International Criminal Court and suspending the security cooperation with Israel, Palestinians hope to isolate the Israeli state internationally and make it pay for its occupation and war crimes.
Weeks before the results of the Israeli elections were known, the Palestine Central Council (PCC) met in Ramallah to decide on the Palestinian strategy. Somehow anticipating a continuation or a shift to the hard right, the council resolved on March 5 to give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the mandate to suspend security cooperation and to move ahead with the ongoing efforts at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The United Nations declared that the nonmember state of Palestine will become a full legal member in the ICC on April 1. Palestine will reportedly sue Israel for war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as well as the perpetual war crimes in terms of the illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
