The US State Department is demanding that the International Criminal Court (ICC) reject Palestinian membership on the grounds that “Palestine is not a state” and that the application is therefore unacceptable.
The comments echo those from Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, though as neither Israel nor the US is a ratified member of the ICC, neither necessarily has much pull, and the UN has already confirmed Palestine’s membership will be active effective April 1.
The argument is not true either, at least not in a way that seriously matter. Palestine is already listed as a “non-member observer state” by the United Nations, and the Palestinian Authority, the applicant, is the provisional government of that state.
Though in practice Palestine’s territory is unclear (and under military occupation), its status as a de jure state doesn’t seem to be under serious question.
