Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is playing ‘chicken’ with U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli leaders.
The Arab leader, known to locals by his terrorist name, ‘Abu Mazen,’ signed papers Wednesday for the PA to officially join the International Criminal Court at The Hague. In doing so, Abbas called the bluff issued by Washington and by Israel’s government, a warning that such a step would lead to dire consequences.
The move came one day after a vote at the United Nations Security Council nixed a PA resolution sponsored by Jordan, demanding Israel withdraw its forces from all areas conquered in the 1967 Six Day War. These include much of Jerusalem, areas restored to the capital that were lost when Jordan seized parts of the city during the 1948 War of Independence.
More than half a million Israelis now live and work in the areas of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria demanded by the PA. Sites holy to the three monotheist faiths that were cleaned of the filth and garbage that accumulated during the years of Jordanian occupation are also situated therein.
“There is aggression practiced against our land and our country, and the Security Council has let us down; where shall we go?” Abbas said dramatically in a speech delivered from his headquarters, the Muqata, after signing the Rome Statute – the founding charter of the ICC – and 21 other international treaties and conventions.
“We want to complain to this organization. As long as there is no peace and the world does not prioritize peace in this region, this region will live in constant conflict. The Palestinian cause is the key issue to be settled.”
The fly in the ointment here is the fact that the Rome Statute stipulates once a nation has joined the Court, it then also becomes culpable for the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed by its own government as well. Abbas may well have signed the death warrant for the Palestinian Authority all on his own, without the United States or Israel ever having had to do a single thing.