Haaretz: Israel Fears Palestinian ICC Recourse on Settlements

Israeli officials fear the Palestinians may launch legal action against Jewish settlements in the West Bank if their bid for upgraded United Nations status is successful, a media report said on Friday.

The daily Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Thursday told EU and U.S. envoys of his concerns about a possible Palestinian recourse to the International Criminal Court in The Hague on the settlers issue.

It said the premier expressed his fears at meetings with U.S., EU and Quartet envoys holding talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to get them back into direct peace talks that stalled a year ago.

The Palestinian bid for U.N. membership is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, who say the only route to a Palestinian state is through bilateral negotiations.

Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev refused to make any comment to Agence France Presse on Friday "on the content of the prime minister's meetings with the envoys."

However, a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Palestinian ICC recourse "would be worrying, given that it would demonstrate that they seek to perpetuate conflict instead of seeking peace."

But the official also believed that "Israel has little to worry about in this case as it has not ratified the Treaty of Rome recognizing the authority of the ICC, and is not therefore bound to implement its rulings."