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Israel says it blocked Palestinian attempt to join Interpol
Israel has claimed credit for Interpol’s decision yesterday to suspend a vote to consider the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) membership application.
At the Interpol General Assembly yesterday in Bali, Indonesia, member states voted 62 in favour and 57 against (with 37 abstentions) to suspend the membership applications of the ‘the Republic of Kosovo, the State of Palestine and the Solomon Islands’ until July 2017. Interpol facilitates cooperation between police departments worldwide, and is the second largest international organisation after the UN.
Interpol said that “a clear and transparent process with a defined set of criteria for membership of Interpol was required” and that a study would now be conducted.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “This morning we prevented the Palestinians’ bid to join Interpol. This constitutes a change in Israel’s international standing.”
Placing Interpol’s decision in a wider context, Netanyahu added: “The struggle to get international bodies to reflect our interests and those of many other countries will continue,” and that “Israel is breaking into the international arena… this will be reflected in all UN agencies and international organisations.”
A joint statement from Israel’s Police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The vote is a major achievement and reflects the change in Israel’s international status and the success of Israeli diplomacy.”
Israeli leaders consistently warned against international bodies becoming a forum for political attacks against the State of Israel. They cautioned that the PA’s Interpol application is part of a Palestinian strategy to gain international statehood recognition without entering into peace talks with Israel. Israeli officials also feared that Palestinian Interpol membership would enable sensitive information to be leaked to Palestinian terror groups.
In another development yesterday, the UN General Assembly adopted ten resolutions hostile towards Israel. Two of the resolutions apparently ignored Jewish ties to the Temple Mount, referring to the site solely by its Muslim name. Another resolution criticised Israeli activity on “the occupied Syrian Golan”.