Ramallah: The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will shortly refer the issue of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to the UN General Assembly as it seeks the world body's opinion on the matter, especially with regards to international law, a top Palestinian official said.
Speaking to Gulf News, Eisa Qaraqei, the Palestinian Minister of Detainees' Affairs, said all the preparations have already been made to approach the UN General Assembly as regards this matter.
"All the legal preparations are currently in place and we are ready to lodge the case with the UN General Assembly very shortly," he said.
"We have coordinated the move with the Arab and Muslim states in the UN."
Qaraqei said that the issue has gone through its final stage during the current visit of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Egypt where he discussed the move with the Arab League Secretary-General Nabeel Al Arabi, after it was thoroughly reviewed at the Legal Department of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Non-binding
"We will get the UN General Assembly vote on the advisory international and legal opinion which is not binding but can serve as a basis for UN action," he said.
"The nature of the UN General Advisory opinion will decide our next step, which is approaching the International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague," he added.
"We will lodge a complaint with the [ICC] demanding the trial of the Israeli Prison Service, and certain interrogators." Israel treats Palestinian prisoners as criminals and terrorists and detains them in jails based in 1948 territories, which totally contradicts international law
He stressed that the UN General Assembly advisory opinion will provide the Palestinians with great moral and legal gains.
