Israel tries to block PA bid to join Interpol

The Israeli authorities are preparing to start a campaign to convince the International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, to reject the membership application from the Palestinian Authority, Quds Press reported on Sunday.

Using its diplomatic representation overseas, the foreign ministry is trying to explain Israel’s stance on the PA’s bid to join the organisation. According to the Walla website, the move to join Interpol is part of the PA’s strategy to join international organisations. After the UN, Interpol is the largest of such bodies.

When the application was submitted a very short time before the last annual meeting of Interpol members, it was rejected. Earlier this year, the PA renewed its request to join the organisation, but the executive committee decided in May not to vote on any new applications.

According to Quds Press, though, Interpol then set up an independent committee of experts to decide on the criteria for potential new members, including the PA, Kosovo and the Solomon Islands. The newspaper said that Turkey has announced that it has added the PA request to join Interpol to the agenda for the 2016 meeting and that it has been agreed to put the application to a vote.

The Israelis claim that if the PA is a member of Interpol, it could leak intelligence information to terrorist organisations.