Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has called on the Arab League to sue Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The demand came during a phone call Haniyeh made with Secretary-General of the Cairo-based league, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, to discuss Israeli practices against the Palestinians. Haniyeh underlined the need "to go to the U.N. General Assembly to discuss the [Israeli] crime and form a special investigation commission." his office said in a statement, as reported by Anadolu Agency (AA).

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) held a session Saturday at the request of Kuwait to discuss the situation on Gaza border, but the Council failed to condemn the Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters. The U.S. declined calls from the U.N. Security Council for an investigation into violence on the Israeli-Gaza border that left 18 Palestinians dead, a U.N. official said Monday.

Speaking at Arab League session, Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh accused the U.S. of "encouraging" Israel to continue committing "heinous crimes" against defenseless Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch yesterday accused Israel of "unlawful" excessive force when it responded last week to mass Palestinian protests with live fire. The group issued a report saying that although there was violence at the protest on Friday, like rock throwing and burning tires, there is no evidence that demonstrators "seriously threatened" Israeli soldiers.

Friday was the bloodiest single day in the embattled coastal enclave since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. </s> The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Washington office is set to close by order of the Trump administration in support of the United States' longtime ally Israel amid stalled peace efforts.

According to administration officials, the decision to close the PLO office will be announced on Monday by National Security Adviser John Bolton as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

"The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel," Bolton plans to say, according to a draft.

"The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel," the draft also said.

A Palestinian official confirmed the report on Monday.

"We have been notified by a U.S. official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the U.S.," PLO secretary-general Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

"This is yet another affirmation of the Trump administration's policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people, including by cutting financial support for humanitarian services including health and education," he said.

According to a Reuters report, the administration may possibly also impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court amid claims an investigation may be launched into alleged war crimes by the U.S and Israel against Palestine.

"If the court comes after us, Israel or other allies, we will not sit quietly," he plans to add.

Bolton added that the administration will not allow any ICC judges or prosecutors enter the country if the investigation launches.

"We will sanction their funds in the U.S financial system, and we will prosecute them in the U.S. criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists a İCC investigation of American," he adds.

In November, the U.S. State Department refused to renew operating permission for the PLO office in Washington for the first time since the 1980s, after Palestinian President and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called for an investigation and prosecution of Israeli officials. The State Department later, however, said it wanted the office to stay open after the PLO froze all communication with the U.S. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday threatened tough action against the International Criminal Court should it try to prosecute Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and said the PLO's office in Washington would be closed for seeking to punish Israel through the court.

"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," national security adviser John Bolton told the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in his first major address since joining President Donald Trump's White House in April.

The U.S. response could include sanctions against ICC judges should such prosecutions proceed, Bolton warned.

He added that the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington was being ordered closed out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

Bolton said he did not believe the closure of the PLO office in Washington would shut the door on a long-delayed Arab-Israeli peace plan that Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been developing for months.

He said the plan continued to be refined with an eye towards eventually proposing it.

The Palestinians said they were undeterred from going to the ICC. They deemed the planned PLO mission closure a new pressure tactic by a Trump administration that has slashed funding to a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and to hospitals in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as capital of a future state.

"We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying," Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

"Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes."

Israel welcomed the Trump administration's move and accused the Palestinians of seeing the court as a way of sidestepping U.S.-sponsored bilateral talks. Those contacts stalled in 2014.

"The Palestinians' resort to the ICC and refusal to negotiate with Israel and the United States is not the way to advance peace, and it is good that the United States is taking a clear stand on this matter," said an Israeli official who requested anonymity.

'WILL NOT COOPERATE WITH ICC'

Bolton said the Trump administration "will fight back" if the ICC proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

"The ICC prosecutor has requested to investigate these Americans for alleged detainee abuse, and perhaps more - an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation," he said.

If such an inquiry goes ahead, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, put sanctions on any funds they have in the U.S. financial system and prosecute them in American courts, Bolton said.

"We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us," he said.

In addition, the United States may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to The Hague-based court, Bolton said.

The court's aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002, with Republican President George W. Bush opposed to the court. Bush's Democratic successor, Barack Obama, took some steps to cooperate with it.

Palestinians have reacted with dismay to the U.S. funding cuts, warning that they could lead to more poverty and anger - among factors stoking their decades of conflict with Israel.

Trump ordered last week that $25 million earmarked for the care of Palestinians in East Jerusalem be directed elsewhere.

"This decision will create serious cash-flow problems at the hospitals and will necessarily create delays in life-saving and other urgent treatments," Walid Nammour, head of the network of six hospitals affected, told reporters on Monday. "Overall, the decision puts the health of 5 million Palestinians at risk."

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> AMSTERDAM – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Sunday called for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip, adding the Palestinian territories were subject to a preliminary examination by her office and she was monitoring events there closely.

Following the deaths of 29 Palestinians in protest clashes with Israeli forces in the past two weeks, Fatou Bensouda said in a statement “any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny”.

The ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, in January 2015, after Palestine was officially admitted as a member of the court.

Israel is not a member of the court but if Israeli citizens commit war crimes or crimes against humanity on the territory of a member state they could fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.

“Violence against civilians - in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes ... as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities,” Bensouda said.

Bensouda said she would record “any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force” by either side in the conflict.

A preliminary examination is the earliest phase of a case at the ICC. In it, the prosecutor gathers information and studies whether crimes may have been committed that reach the level of gravity required to open a formal investigation, and whether the court would have jurisdiction.

The ICC only has jurisdiction in cases where a country’s government is itself unable or unwilling to prosecute war crimes or crimes against humanity. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday threatened tough action against the International Criminal Court should it try to prosecute Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and said the PLO’s office in Washington would be closed for seeking to punish Israel through the court.

“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” national security adviser John Bolton told the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in his first major address since joining President Donald Trump’s White House in April.

The U.S. response could include sanctions against ICC judges should such prosecutions proceed, Bolton warned.

He added that the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington was being ordered closed out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

Bolton said he did not believe the closure of the PLO office in Washington would shut the door on a long-delayed Arab-Israeli peace plan that Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been developing for months.

He said the plan continued to be refined with an eye toward eventually proposing it.

The Palestinians said they were undeterred from going to the ICC. They deemed the planned PLO mission closure a new pressure tactic by a Trump administration that has slashed funding to a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and to hospitals in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as capital of a future state.

“We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying,” Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

“Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes.”

Israel welcomed the Trump administration’s move and accused the Palestinians of seeing the court as a way of sidestepping U.S.-sponsored bilateral talks. Those contacts stalled in 2014.

“The Palestinians’ resort to the ICC and refusal to negotiate with Israel and the United States is not the way to advance peace, and it is good that the United States is taking a clear stand on this matter,” said an Israeli official who requested anonymity.

‘WILL NOT COOPERATE WITH ICC’

Bolton said the Trump administration “will fight back” if the ICC proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

“The ICC prosecutor has requested to investigate these Americans for alleged detainee abuse, and perhaps more - an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation,” he said.

If such an inquiry goes ahead, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, put sanctions on any funds they have in the U.S. financial system and prosecute them in American courts, Bolton said.

“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” he said.

In addition, the United States may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to The Hague-based court, Bolton said.

The court’s aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002, with Republican President George W. Bush opposed to the court. Bush’s Democratic successor, Barack Obama, took some steps to cooperate with it.

FILE PHOTO: The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen/File Photo

Palestinians have reacted with dismay to the U.S. funding cuts, warning that they could lead to more poverty and anger - among factors stoking their decades of conflict with Israel.

Trump ordered last week that $25 million earmarked for the care of Palestinians in East Jerusalem be directed elsewhere.

“This decision will create serious cash-flow problems at the hospitals and will necessarily create delays in life-saving and other urgent treatments,” Walid Nammour, head of the network of six hospitals affected, told reporters on Monday. “Overall, the decision puts the health of 5 million Palestinians at risk.” </s> AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Sunday called for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip, adding the Palestinian territories were subject to a preliminary examination by her office and she was monitoring events there closely.

Following the deaths of 29 Palestinians in protest clashes with Israeli forces in the past two weeks, Fatou Bensouda said in a statement “any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny”.

The ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, in January 2015, after Palestine was officially admitted as a member of the court.

Israel is not a member of the court but if Israeli citizens commit war crimes or crimes against humanity on the territory of a member state they could fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.

“Violence against civilians - in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes ... as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities,” Bensouda said.

Bensouda said she would record “any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force” by either side in the conflict.

A preliminary examination is the earliest phase of a case at the ICC. In it, the prosecutor gathers information and studies whether crimes may have been committed that reach the level of gravity required to open a formal investigation, and whether the court would have jurisdiction.

The ICC only has jurisdiction in cases where a country’s government is itself unable or unwilling to prosecute war crimes or crimes against humanity. </s> AMSTERDAM - The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Sunday called for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip, adding the Palestinian territories were subject to preliminary examination by her office and she was monitoring events there closely.



Following the deaths of 29 Palestinians in protest clashes with Israeli forces in the past two weeks, Fatou Bensouda said in a statement "any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office's scrutiny." </s> AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Sunday called for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip, adding the Palestinian territories were subject to a preliminary examination by her office and she was monitoring events there closely.

Following the deaths of 29 Palestinians in protest clashes with Israeli forces in the past two weeks, Fatou Bensouda said in a statement "any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office's scrutiny".

 The ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, in January 2015, after Palestine was officially admitted as a member of the court.

 Israel is not a member of the court but if Israeli citizens commit war crimes or crimes against humanity on the territory of a member state they could fall under the ICC's jurisdiction.

 "Violence against civilians - in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes ... as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities," Bensouda said.

 Bensouda said she would record "any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force" by either side in the conflict.

 A preliminary examination is the earliest phase of a case at the ICC. In it, the prosecutor gathers information and studies whether crimes may have been committed that reach the level of gravity required to open a formal investigation, and whether the court would have jurisdiction.

 The ICC only has jurisdiction in cases where a country's government is itself unable or unwilling to prosecute war crimes or crimes against humanity.

 

 (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Andrew Roche) </s> UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 (APP):In a blow to the United States, the U.N. General Assembly has rejected a US-sponsored resolution seeking to condemn Hamas, the Palestinian group administering the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Authority asks the United Nations to investigate.