Palestinians Eye U.N. Deadline to End Israel Occupation

The Palestinian leadership is to demand the international community set a deadline for Israel to end its occupation of the territories, a senior official told Agence France-Presse on Monday. 

The move comes as Palestinian and world leaders continue to push for a halt to seven weeks of bloodshed in Gaza, and seek a more permanent end to violence between Israel and the Islamist movement, Hamas.

The Palestinian leadership is preparing "to go to the U.N. Security Council to enforce an end to the (Israeli) occupation," senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Wasel Abu Yusef told AFP.

Labor minister Ahmad al-Majdalani also said the leadership was "working towards... holding an international conference to set a timetable for an end to the occupation," he told AFP on Sunday.

Neither official gave any details on when the Palestinian demand would be presented.

Such a move would likely be vetoed by the United States which traditionally opposes any step perceived as anti-Israeli at the Security Council.

But in the event of a likely U.S. veto, the Palestinians would consider fast-tracking an application to become party to the International Criminal Court, Abu Yussef said. 

"If the U.S. uses a veto, then we still have the ICC card," he told AFP.

Since obtaining the U.N. status of a non-member observer state in November 2012, the Palestinians have repeatedly threatened to join the ICC where they could pursue Israeli officials over actions in the occupied territories. 

Based in The Hague, the ICC can prosecute those guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed since July 1, 2002 when its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, came into force.

So far, the Rome Statute has been ratified by 121 countries, but not Israel, the United States, China or Russia.

Only individuals, not states, can be prosecuted before the ICC.

A state party may refer crimes within the court's jurisdiction to the prosecutor for investigation. Cases may also be referred by the U.N. Security Council, or the prosecutor can initiate his own investigations with permission from the judges.

Joining the ICC would also expose Palestinian factions including Hamas to possible prosecution.

Hamas, the main power in Gaza, said Saturday it had signed a document calling on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to apply for ICC membership.

So far, Abbas has not yet made the application.

Israel's latest face-off with Hamas, which began on July 8, has so far killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and 68 people in Israel, four of them civilians.