Israel’s minister for police: Palestinians trying to ‘politicize’ Interpol

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan criticized an attempt by the Palestinian Authority to join the international police force Interpol, saying the move would politicize the body and damage its integrity.

Speaking with Russian police officers during an official visit to Moscow on Monday, Erdan, whose ministry is responsible for the police service, said that the move was part of Palestinian efforts to impose unilateral decisions on Israel via international bodies.

“Interpol is an important professional organization tasked with helping its members fight crime and ensure public safety,” Erdan said. “It cannot be turned into a political body driven by extraneous considerations, as the Palestinians are trying to do.”

The Palestinians want their request to join Interpol to come to a vote during the organization’s annual general assembly next week, but Jerusalem is working to prevent the vote, fearing that they would leak sensitive information to Palestinian terror groups, Israeli officials said.

In a bid to foil the move, Israeli diplomats have been lobbying member countries, while Israel Police representatives have been speaking with their Interpol peers.

Israel fears that sensitive information could be leaked to terrorists if the Palestinians join the organization, an official in Jerusalem told The Times of Israel on Monday, without giving further details.

As a policy, Israel generally attempts to block the Palestinians from joining international organizations, which would give them de facto recognition as a state.

Israel is hoping that the fact that Kosovo, along with the Solomon Islands, is also requesting Interpol membership, will bring Russia and other countries to side with Israel against the vote. Russia does not recognize Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

According to the Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa, the PA’s interior and foreign ministries were handling “extensive contacts” with “concerned countries” that support its request.

Faid Mustafa, the Palestinian ambassador to Turkey, said on Monday that the PA had Turkey’s support “on the basis that Palestine has the right to join all international organizations.”

Representatives of 190 member countries will attend Interpol’s general assembly in Bali, Indonesia, from November 7-10.

After nine months of US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians fell apart in April 2014, the PA embraced a policy of seeking membership in international organizations and bodies including, among others, the International Criminal Court, of which it became a member in April.

As part of a series of measures designed to boost Ramallah’s international statehood effort, the Palestinian Authority made its formal request to join Interpol in August 2015.

Interpol, the world’s biggest international organization after the United Nations, enables member states to exchange intelligence and to work together to find ways to cope with international crime, from terror to human trafficking.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.