CAIRO: The Arab League has called an emergency meeting of foreign ministers for April 9 on the floundering US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian, its chief Nabil Al Arabi announced yesterday.
The meeting will discuss Israel’s refusal to release Palestinian prisoners, a key sticking point in the negotiations, Arabi told reporters. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas requested the meeting, Arabi said, adding it would “examine developments in the light of Israel’s refusal to release a fourth tranche of prisoners and extend talks”.
On Tuesday, Abbas said he had begun steps to join several UN agencies and ratify international treaties, angering Israel and prompting US Secretary of State John Kerry to cancel a trip to Ramallah. Meanwhile, the UN’s special envoy on Mideast peace, Robert Serry, has received requests from Palestinians to join 13 international conventions and treaties, the UN confirmed. The treaties include the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, the convention on the rights of the child, the convention against torture, and the one against corruption.
Once these applications have been officially received at the UN headquarters, “we will be reviewing them to consider the appropriate next steps,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary general.
The Palestinian Authority has also asked Switzerland if it can join the Fourth Geneva Convention from August 1949 and the first additional protocol. And it has asked the Netherlands if it can join the Hague Convention of 1907 on laws and customs governing war.
Palestinians in November 2012 had obtained the status of an observer state in the UN, which allows them access to a number of conventions and international organisations. Agencies
