US warns of “consequences” for Palestinian ICC charges against Israel

The Palestinians delivered the documents for joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties at world UN headquarters in New York Friday, undeterred by US and Israeli warnings that aid to the Palestinian Authority would be cut off.  The Palestinian observer at the United Nations, Riyad Mansour said the Palestinians have also formally requested retroactive ICC jurisdiction "with regard to the crimes committed during the last war in Gaza." The Hague court has a 60-day waiting period for approval of a new member.

Under US law, aid would be cut off if the Palestinians used membership of the International Criminal Court to make claims against Israel. The Obama administration has also threatened to freeze all its ties with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned that the Palestinians have more to fear from exposure to prosecution before the ICC for war crimes after decades of terrorism against the Jewish state.