Interpol votes to include Palestine despite concerns from Israel

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Interpol on Wednesday voted to admit Palestine as a member of its international policing organization despite objections from Israel.

The decision came at the international police organization’s general assembly in Beijing, China.

“Each application was approved by a more than two-thirds majority vote at Interpol’s General Assembly,” Interpol said in an official statement confirming the vote.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official argued Interpol, which is keen on developing cross-border cooperation against crime and terrorism, had made the world a more dangerous place by including Palestine.

“By admitting ‘Palestine,’ which praises terrorists of the past and refuses to condemn those of today, Interpol makes the world less safe,” Michael Oren, Israel’s deputy minister for diplomacy, wrote on Twitter.

Interpol’s statement said Palestine had confirmed it met “the conditions for statehood,” and will need “to specify which national official police body will be its representative in Interpol.”

According to Israel, Palestine is not a state and is, therefore, ineligible to join the international policing organization.

However, under temporary Israeli-Palestinian peace deals, a Palestinian Authority was granted limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

Interpol’s decision to include Palestine comes a day after a Palestinian shot dead three Israeli guards in Jerusalem before being killed by police.

In the aftermath of the attack, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ignored a call by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn the attack.

Some Israeli media outlets have raised concerns that as an Interpol member, Palestine could request the location and provisional arrest of government officials and military officers accused of war crimes.

Palestine attempted to join the international policing organization last year, but their bid was foiled by Israel.

In addition to Palestine, Interpol voted to include the Solomon Islands which increases the group’s members to 192.

Editing by Ava Homa