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75 Senators Send Letter Urging Administration to Oppose Palestinian Court Bid

by TheTower.org Staff |

In a letter sent to Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, a bipartisan majority of 75 senators pressed the administration to oppose the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) attempts to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). The senators declared that PA President Abbas’ “effort contravenes the spirit of earlier agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and erodes the prospects for peace.”

In an initiative led by Senators Marco Rubio ( R – Fla. ) and Kirsten Gillibrand ( D – N.Y. ), the senators also pledged not to “support assistance” to the PA while the State Department conducts a review of the Palestinians’ request made to the ICC to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes committed in Operation Protective Edge last summer. Current U. S. law prohibits economic aid “if the Palestinians initiate an ICC investigation of Israeli nationals or “actively support such an investigation.”   Earlier this month, the ICC announced its decision to open a preliminary investigation to determine if war crimes were committed.

The letter continues stating that the PA’s intention is to “directly challenge Israel’s legitimate right to defend its citizens and territory” and “that the only realistic and sustainable path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to Kerry, urging the State Department to revoke economic assistance to the PA in response to the decision to join the ICC.

Former Ambassador Dennis Ross explained in a recent op-ed in The New York Times that the Palestinians’ attempts to use international organizations to gain legitimacy “puts pressure on Israel and requires nothing of the Palestinians.”

Ross continued, “Palestinians care deeply about international support for their cause. If they knew they would be held accountable for being nonresponsive or rejecting a fair offer or resolution, it could well change their calculus.” This echoes the perspective of Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who has called Abbas’ tactic of sidestepping negotiations in favor of “diplomatic lawfare and unilateral maneuvers.”

[Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr]

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