BICOM

Representatives of Interpol passed a resolution to admit the “State of Palestine” as a member, despite strong objections by Israel at the organisation’s general assembly in Beijing on Wednesday.

In a secret vote, Palestinian membership was approved by 75 to 24 votes, with 34 abstentions, exceeding the two-thirds requirement. The Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said: “This victory was made possible because of the principled position of the majority of Interpol members.”

Set up almost a century ago, Interpol is designed to help countries share police intelligence and cooperate against crime that crosses international borders, including terrorism and human trafficking. It now has 192 members, making it the second largest international body after the UN.

Israel campaigned extensively against the vote because it is concerned that the PA will be able to issue international arrest warrants against its citizens and that sensitive counter-terrorism intelligence could be leaked to the PA.

Speaking at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organisations, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin warned that Interpol’s decision would undermine the organisation’s ability to combat global terrorism. Former Foreign Minister, MK Tzipi Livni, said the vote was “a bad decision… bad for Israel and bad for the war on terror”.

Omar Awadallah, who runs the UN department in the PA Foreign Ministry, said that the Palestinians could theoretically use their Interpol status to pursue legal steps against Israelis suspected of crimes in Palestinian territory, but added that “this is a political issue and needs a political decision”. Interpol’s constitution forbids the use of red notices – requests by member states to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition – for political purposes.

Interpol has said that red notices do not equal international arrest warrants and that the organisation cannot compel any member country to arrest an individual who is the subject of a red notice. It is, however, notoriously difficult to remove a red notice once it has been issued.

The PA gained non-member observer status in the UN in 2012 and since then has joined more than 50 international organisations and agreements, including the International Criminal Court and UNESCO.