Geneva: The Swiss government says the Palestinians can join the Geneva Conventions, the international rules of war that also cover occupations.
The Palestinians signed letters of accession to several international conventions after Israel failed to carry out a planned prisoner release after the end of a March deadline.
On Thursday, the United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted Palestinian applications to join 13 other conventions.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry, as the depositary of the Geneva Conventions, said Friday that “the state of Palestine” acceded to the conventions effective April 2.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that Ban informed all 193 UN member states of his acceptance.
After Israel failed to carry out a planned prisoner release a few days after the end of March deadline, the Palestinians retaliated by signing letters of accession to 15 international conventions. Thirteen were deposited at the UN, one in Geneva, and one in the Netherlands.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Tuesday that Palestine will officially become a state party to 13 of the 15 conventions on May 2 — and is ready with more applications to join UN agencies, conventions and treaties depending on Israel’s actions.
Israel argues that the Geneva Conventions forbidding colonisation of occupied land shouldn’t apply to the West Bank and Gaza because it is not universally accepted as a state in its own right.
