Palestinians court trouble?

In all the media coverage of the Palestinian Authority’s recent membership of the International Criminal Court, the emphasis has been on how Israel can now be legally called to account for its conduct regarding Gaza .

In a desperate attempt to remain relevant in light of Hamas’ increasingly dominant position in a fractured Palestinian leadership, Mahmoud Abbas asserted that “we want to complain. There’s aggression against us, against our land”. However, there seems to be a complete lack of understanding that this is a double-edged sword, if the PA can now demand Israel is held to account, Israel can also demand that terrorist actions by the PA be reviewed. Moreover, one thing Israel does not lack is sophisticated lawyers, and perhaps the PA will find this out in the near future.

Dr Kevin McCarthy