Palestine Officially Joins the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague

Palestine's membership in the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, has been officially recognized without any opposition. This is the first time since the establishment of the Hague Court that the membership of a delegation has been formalized through supportive votes from other member countries. According to reports, at a meeting of this court on Monday, March 15, 57 countries agreed to Palestine's accession to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, 24 countries abstained, and no opposition was recorded. The Palestinian Authority submitted an official request to join the Hague Court one year and three months ago (January 2015), and it was stated that its membership would be formalized from April 2015, but due to opposition from the United States, this membership was suspended. The United States and Canada, supporting Israel, also opposed the formalization of Palestine's membership in the court this time, but before the final vote, their delegations, realizing their position was failing, exited the session and did not participate in the voting. The United States, Canada, and Israel argued that Palestine cannot be a formal member of the Hague Court without full membership in the United Nations. However, this argument was rejected by the majority of countries worldwide, which considered Palestine's membership in the Hague Court a 'right.' Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Foreign Minister, stated that the formalization of Palestine's accession to the Hague Court sends a 'strong message' to the Dutch government as well. The Netherlands had suspended Palestine's membership in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague following last year's objections from the United States. Nabil Abuznaid, the Palestinian ambassador to the Netherlands, expressed gratitude to the countries supporting Palestine, stating that they have restored a right of the Palestinian people that had been violated. Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, announced in the UN General Assembly in the fall of 2014, after the failure of the last attempts to revive peace talks with Israel, that the Palestinian Authority had decided to independently advance Palestine's membership in the Hague Court and other international bodies. Palestinians have achieved significant successes in this goal, and many countries around the world have already recognized Palestine's independence. Palestinian officials have previously emphasized that with membership in the Hague Court, they will file complaints regarding Israeli attacks that have led to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians over the years, labeling them as 'war crimes.' Palestinians have prepared cases regarding the summer 2014 war with 2,400 deaths and the Judaization of occupied territories to present to the Hague Court. In the absence of a prospect for resuming talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and while the Israeli government has rejected France's political initiative to hold a peace conference, the current round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians has entered its sixth month, resulting in nearly 250 deaths on both sides.