The Palestinian Authority has formally joined the Geneva conventions which outline the rules of war and military occupation, the Swiss government stated on Friday. Palestinians first sought membership 25 years ago.
On Thursday the UN said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had
accepted for deposit a Palestinian request to join 13
internationally binding conventions and treaties. Tel Aviv claims
the Palestinians seeking membership is in breach of conditions of
the ongoing peace talks.
The Palestine Liberation Organization first requested that
Palestine join the Geneva Conventions on June 21, 1989. However,
the Swiss Foreign Ministry stated at the time that it could not
decide on the outcome of the application as the existence or
non-existence of a State of Palestine was still contested.
On Nov. 29, 2012 the UN General Assembly ‘upgraded’ Palestine,
making it a “non-member observer state” of the UN.
The Palestinian Authority professed that it was party to the
internationally-binding agreements as of April 2, said Swiss
foreign ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, reported
AFP. Switzerland, as their depositary, recognized that “the state
of Palestine” also acceded, as of April 2.
Israel has vehemently opposed the move, which is widely seen as
part of a renewed diplomatic drive by Palestinian authorities as
peace talks are on the brink of collapsing. Israel argues that
there is no universally acknowledged Palestinian state and that
the move could throw peace talks into further jeopardy.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas confirmed that he had received
a letter from the Swiss government on Thursday confirming that
Palestine would be party to the agreements, and called it a
“historic day for the Palestinian people”.
The Palestinian letters of accession were sent shortly after
Israel failed to meet the March deadline for a planned prisoner
release. Palestine said that it would put any moves to seek UN
treaty membership on hiatus as peace talks were underway,
providing the veteran Arab prisoners were released.
Peace talks have caused a great deal of political tension in
Israel despite attempts by US Secretary of State John Kerry to
oversee the process. Right wing coalition members disagree with
the notion of Palestinian sovereignty.
On Friday, a partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s coalition government threatened to quit the
government if peace talks resulted in the release of Israeli-Arab
prisoners. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett who heads up the
Jewish Home party stated that: “The emerging deal, if it
includes the release of murderers with Israeli citizenship,
damages Israeli sovereignty,” according to AFP.
“If the proposal passes, the Jewish Home will quit the
government,” he added. However, anonymous senior members of
Netanyahu's cabinet told the agency that the threats were empty.
Israel imposed additional economic sanctions against Palestine in
response to its unilateral decision to join the international
conventions.
“It has been decided to freeze the transfer to the
Palestinian Authority of the taxes collected by Israel on its
behalf,” an Israeli official told AFP. Reuters too confirmed
the reports adding that Tel Aviv will deduct “debt
payments” from tax transfers which the Palestinians receive.
Israel will also place a limit on Palestinian bank deposits in
Israel.