PA calls for Liberman to be charged in int'l court

Ramallah accuses FM of advocating assassination of Abbas, calls for his prosecution at International Criminal Court.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Lieberman 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Lieberman 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The Palestinian Authority charged Friday that recent statements made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman against PA President Mahmoud Abbas constitute incitement and he should be prosecuted in international courts for extremism.
In recent weeks Liberman has repeatedly said that no diplomatic progress was possible with Abbas at the PA helm. Some two weeks ago he dispatched a letter to Quartet members calling for elections to be held in the Palestinian Authority and the selection of a “new, legitimate, hopefully realistic Palestinian leadership.”
“Due to Abbas’s weak standing, and his policy of not renewing the negotiations which is an obstacle to peace, the time has come to consider a creative solution, to think ‘outside the box,’ in order to strengthen the Palestinian leadership,” Liberman wrote.
The Prime Minister's Office distanced itself from Liberman's letter and the PA swiftly slammed the foreign minister, with Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh issuing a statement saying his remarks were “incitement for violence and killing.”
On Friday, the PA Information Ministry stated that Liberman had "crossed every red line in his continuous incitement against Abbas," according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency. The PA Information Ministry went on to accuse Liberman of calling for the assassination of Abbas.
The ministry said that Liberman should be charged at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, calling on the EU, US and UN to take action against his "continuous incitement," according to Ma'an.
Herb Keinon and Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.


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