PA: We will not retreat from joining international organisations

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki yesterday stressed that Palestinians would not call off joining international organisations and conventions should Israel continue undermining the peace process.

Speaking to a local Palestinian TV channel, he said: “All Israeli reactions to these measures are based on contradictory policies.” He added: “We are getting closer to achieving the independence of our state as we join more organisations and conventions.”

Al-Maliki said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will study how to benefit most from these measures in order to make Israel accountable to the international community. “Membership of some conventions does not become active until sometime after joining,” he said.

He said that only three countries rejected the PA’s attempts to join the international organisations; Israel, America and Canada. “We are preparing a response to the Israeli position.”

The PA is keeping abreast of the internal Israeli policies and is looking forward to continued dialogue with Israeli, the minister explained.

About the Palestinian-Arabic and international relations, Al-Maliki said that there is an agreement with the new Egyptian regime headed by the coup leader Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi, who Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met with. “We are optimistic about the future of Egypt’s role,” he said.

The PA was given a non-member observer status in the UN in November 2012. This enabled it to join international organisations and conventions.

In the wake of the stalemate of the PA-Israeli talks in April, Abbas joined 15 international organisations and conventions. Observers and experts were unsure whether this measure would help the Palestinian issue.

A Palestinian unity government consisting of technocrats, from both Hamas and Fatah, was sworn in last week. It got a conditional UN and US recognition, but it was completely rejected by Israel. It has many issues to deal with including the recognition of Israel and historic agreements with Israel in addition to the retention of security cooperation with Israel.