Erekat submits signed applications to join international treaties

PLO Executive Committee member and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat is reported to have delivered papers signed by President Mahmoud Abbas to join the International Criminal Court to the representative of the United Nations in Ramallah yesterday evening.

Erekat stressed that Israeli settlements are the first issue that Palestine will address at the International Criminal Court, adding that “any Israeli war crime will not be dropped by statute of limitations”.

Commenting on the Israeli and US criticism of the president’s signing of the Rome Treaty, Erekat said: “Those who fear the International Criminal Court must stop committing crimes.”

He added that “the position of the United States as a superpower requires it to shoulder its responsibility and stop treating Israel as a state above the law.”

On Wednesday, President Abbas signed documents to join 20 international treaties less than 24 hours after a Palestinian-Arab draft demanding an end to the Israeli occupation failed to be adopted by the UN Security Council.