PLO refused to offer guarantees to America and Britain

Saleh Rafat, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, confirmed Palestine’s insistence on “prosecuting” Israel for its “crimes”. The leadership refused to give in to American and British pressure for a guarantee not to prosecute Israeli leaders in the international courts.

In a statement to Quds Press, Saleh Rafat stressed that Palestine had previously resorted to the international courts and tried to join the Rome Convention, which is related to the Criminal Court of Justice, but the decision was rejected on the grounds that Palestine is not a state.

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Rafat said, “in case we are accepted as a non-member state this time, we will sign this agreement and resort to it to prosecute all those who committed crimes against the Palestinians.”

The Palestinian official stressed that in the event that Palestine were accepted as a “non-member state”, it would submit a “request to join a number of UN organizations and agencies and sign all the international conventions that would give it a monitoring membership, including the International Criminal Court and also the Geneva Conventions.”

Rafat pointed out that the Palestinian draft request, “will demand a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital,” and that “after obtaining membership, we will return to negotiating the final status procedures, which will include Jerusalem, refugees, water and the borders”, stressing that “the draft will uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, particularly the right of return.”