Abbas to Israel: Those who fear courts must refrain from committing crimes

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned Israel on Sunday against continuing to “violate” the rights of the Palestinian people, saying: “Those who fear courts should refrain from committing crimes,” Anadolu news agency reported.

This came in a brief statement he gave to the media at the headquarters of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, after he had given the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, an important message to deliver to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, asking him to condemn the “violations” of Israel and to form an international committee to protect the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Abbas said that the Palestinian leadership “will take important decisions very soon, which he did not mention, to stop the Israeli aggression and protect the Palestinian people”.

He added: “I say to the Israelis, those who fear courts should refrain from committing crimes against the Palestinian people.”

“The crimes that are being committed against our people – including the burning alive of teenager Mohammed Abu Khudair – reminds us of the crimes that have occurred in the past,” a reference to the Nazi Holocaust committed against the Jews.

Abbas said that in recent weeks, Israel has killed 15 Palestinians, including children, women and elders, and the settlers have committed assaults and attempted kidnappings.

Abbas called for these settlement groups to be considered as “terrorist, illegal and outlawed organisations” that should be prosecuted and punished.

He explained that: “The Palestinian leadership remains in permanent session and will take important decisions soon to curb the Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip and protect the Palestinian people.”

He called for Palestinian leaders to send a message to the UN asking the international community to intervene quickly to stop the collective punishment being practiced by Israel, as well as go to the Security Council to take the case of Israel’s violations to the International Criminal Court, with Israel being a state that breaches international peace and security.

Palestine joined 15 international treaties and conventions last April in response to Israel’s decision to delay the release of the fourth batch of veteran Palestinian prisoners, who were arrested prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

The Israeli army has launched a wide-scale arrest campaign in the occupied West Bank since three settlers went missing in Hebron on 12 June. Their dead bodies were found after 17 days, during which time hundreds of Palestinians were arrested, towns were raided and funds were confiscated. Israel holds Hamas responsible for the killing of the three settlers, but this has neither been confirmed nor denied by the movement.

Last Wednesday, settlers kidnapped and killed the Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khudair, 17, while in front of his home in the town of Shuafat near Jerusalem, which has led to a state of fury in the West Bank and the territories occupied in 1948.