BICOM

Israel’s Public Security Minister has said that Israel will oppose Palestinian attempts to join Interpol, fearing that it will politicise the international organisation.

Gilad Erdan, whose responsibilities include Israel’s police force, told Russian police officers during an official visit to Moscow: “Interpol is an important professional organisation tasked with helping its members fight crime and ensure public safety.” He added: “It cannot be turned into a political body driven by extraneous considerations, as the Palestinians are trying to do.”

Interpol’s General Assembly, which is made up of the organisation’s 190 members, will meet next week in Bali, Indonesia. They are set to consider membership applications from the Palestinian Authority (PA), Kosovo and the Solomon Islands. Israel hopes to persuade Russia to oppose the PA application, particularly as Moscow is against Kosovo’s membership.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon explained that Israel opposes the PA’s Interpol application, as it is part of a Palestinian strategy to gain international statehood recognition without entering into peace talks with Israel. He told the Jerusalem Post: “The Palestinians continue with their multilateral strategy, they seek recognition through international organisations instead of direct talks with Israel. This is something Israel cannot accept.”

Interpol facilitates cooperation between police departments worldwide and is the second largest international organisation after the UN.

Other media reports suggest that Israeli officials also fear that Palestinian Interpol membership would enable sensitive information to be leaked to Palestinian terror groups.

Israel has long warned against international bodies becoming a forum for political attacks against it. Last month, Israeli leaders reacted angrily to the adoption of two controversial motions by the UN’s cultural body UNESCO, which appeared to dismiss the Jewish connection to holy sites in Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Palestine Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub threatened to take football’s world governing body FIFA to court if it does not punish Israel over the existence of six lower-league Israeli football clubs located in the West Bank.