The United States is contemplating acting against the Palestinian Authority's (PA) mission in Washington DC, the Times of Israel reported. Under a U.S. law from December 2015, if the PA takes Israel to the ICC. These penalties include “closing their diplomatic mission to the United States.”
The United States is currently reviewing the situation and will decide if these protocols will take effect.
“We are reviewing this latest development to determine if it requires changes to the operating status of the PLO office in Washington, D.C., which has been limited to activities related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians since November 2017,” a National Security Council spokesperson told the Times of Israel.
The spokesperson said that the US views the PA's attempt to have Israel prosecuted for alleged war crimes as antithetical to the Trump Administration's attempts to restart peace negotiations between the two sides.
Last November, former US Secretary of State refused to certify that the PA were abiding by the conditions of the 2015 law. This prompted speculation of possible closure of the PA Mission in Washington. The president was then given 90 days to decide if the parties are properly fulling the agreement.
The deadline has since passed and the PA Mission remains open.
Yesterday, PA foreign minister Riyad al-Malki submitted a request to ICC Chief Fatou Bensouda to immediately open an investigation against Israel for the deaths of 62 protesters, at least 50 of whom were members of the Hamas terrorist organization, on the Gaza border last week.
Bensouda refused to open an immediate investigation against Israel, but stated that it was possible she would open an investigation against Israel in the future.