UPDATE, 12:30 PM NY Time: Israel has failed to convince the Interpol Executive Committee to postpone a debate on membership for the Palestinian Authority, and the issue will go to the General Assembly for a conference which begins Tuesday.
Our earlier report:
Despite a specific request by the White House to back off its attempts to evade direct talks with Israel by continuing unilateral efforts to gain independent sovereignty via the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority is again seeking full membership in the International Police Organization – better known as Interpol.
Israel is redoubling its efforts to block the move.
Last year the 190 member nations voted at Interpol’s annual meeting in Indonesia to suspend the decision for the time being. At the time, the vote was a close split, with 62 voting for postponement, 56 voting to deal with the question and 37 abstentions.
The Palestinian Authority was not alone in its bid for membership last year either: the Solomon Islands and Kosovo also applied, and were on the same ballot, with Kosovo actively opposed by Russia.
The General Assembly and Executive Committee form Interpol’s primary governing structure. Of the two, Interpol’s supreme governing body, the General Assembly, is composed of delegates appointed by each of its 190 member countries who meet annually to make decisions on policy, resources, working methods, finances, activities and programs.
On Sunday, the Executive Committee met to form resolutions on which the General Assembly is to vote, beginning on Tuesday.
It is not yet known whether the Executive Committee has decided to allow a vote on membership for the Palestinian Authority to advance, or not.
If the issue is allowed to advance, so too will that of Kosovo and the Solomon Islands. A two-thirds majority of the 190 members will be required in order for each candidate to gain membership.
There are numerous concerns involved if the Palestinian Authority is admitted to the ranks of Interpol as the so-called “State of Palestine,” not the least of which being that the entity is not legally an independent sovereign state and did not comply with the internationally-recognized Oslo Accords to fulfill the conditions necessary for reaching that status.
Moreover, there are serious concerns in the Jewish State that if the PA is approved for membership, it will press for arrest warrants against top Israeli officials and other Israeli citizens in the ongoing campaign of lawfare it has waged against Israel in other international arenas.
But perhaps the greatest concern lies within the realm of international espionage and intelligence in the war on terror. Israel is deeply worried that sensitive counter-terrorism information it has already shared, and any it might share in the future with other member states, could be compromised were the Palestinian Authority to share access.
More than a few security officers with the Palestinian Authority security forces themselves have turned out to be murderous terrorists who have ultimately attacked their Israeli counterparts.