Hamas welcomes formation of national committee to deal with ICC

Hamas yesterday welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s decision to form a national committee to deal with the International Criminal Court, a statement said.

Hamas official Spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri called for affording all “elements of success” for this committee, maintaining its independence, keeping it away from any political interference and protecting it from “serving certain agendas”.

On Saturday, PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree regarding the formation of the committee, which was named the Supreme National Committee for Coordination with the ICC”

According to the decree, the committee is to be made up of a mixture of PA members, representatives of other factions and NGO officials.

The role of the committee, the decree said, is to prepare the documents and files needed by the State of Palestine to be offered to the ICC through a technical committee headed by the PA minister. The committee itself decides priorities and is entitled to form the needed technical and legal teams as well as to seek the help of any specialists.

PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat was named the head of the national committee, which included other faction leaders such as Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.

At the beginning of last month, the PA president singed several documents to join international bodies and treaties, including the ICC, as a response to the UN veto against the establishment of a Palestinian state and ending the Israeli occupation of land occupied in 1967.