The International Police Organization (Interpol) voted to Palestine as a member during the organization’s general assembly in Beijing.
“The State of Palestine and the Solomon Islands are now INTERPOL member countries,” an Interpol tweet read.
The Palestine Liberation Organization said on Twitter that more than 75 percent of Interpol members voted to approve membership.
“This victory was made possible because of the principled position of the majority of Interpol members,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said in a statement.
“On this joyous occasion, the State of Palestine reiterates its commitment to upholding its obligations and contributing to fighting crime and furthering the rule of law,” Maliki said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry, which said earlier that Israel’s efforts to delay a vote until next year had failed, had no immediate comment on the decision. However, Israeli media expressed dissatisfaction, with Jerusalem post describing the move a diplomatic setback for the Zionist entity.
“A week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly how Israel’s stature on the world stage was on the rise, the country suffered a diplomatic setback on Wednesday when the International Police Organization (Interpol) voted to accept the Palestinians as a member,” JPost reported.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinian Authority’s observer status at the United Nations to “non-member state” from “entity”, like the Vatican.
Source: Agencies
