‘Israel’ seizes FM’s VIP pass over ICC meeting

Ramallah (QNN)- Israeli authorities confiscated the VIP border pass of Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki upon his return to the West Bank from a meeting at the International Criminal Court, Israeli Walla reported.
Walla news website cited unnamed Israeli officials who said Maliki’s ICC visit was the reason for the revocation of his VIP card, an Israeli-granted pass that enables dozens of senior Palestinian officials to move freely through border crossings.
Reuters cited Ahmed al-Deek, an official at Maliki’s office, confirming the reports.
“This is the Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine. He doesn’t represent himself. He represents the State of Palestine, and we regard this as an attack against the State of Palestine,” said Deek.
He added that Israeli officers detained and questioned Maliki’s aides for 90 minutes at the Israeli-operated border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.
International criminal law prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced this month she would formally investigate war crimes in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Maliki’s office said on Thursday that he met with Bensouda to urge that the investigations be accelerated.