Palestinian FM Riyad Al-Maliki: We Will Join International Organizations and If the U.S. Quits, That's Fine with Us

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki was interviewed on Palestine TV on September 15. Al-Maliki said that Paraguay's moving of its embassy back to Tel Aviv was an important "slap" in the face of the American administration. He said that Palestine filed a complaint against the U.S. to the ICC for moving its embassy to Jerusalem, which he said is Palestinian land. Referring to a U.S. Congress resolution saying that the U.S. will leave any international organization joined by the Palestinians, Al-Maliki said that Palestine will "work towards joining all these organizations in order to make sure that the U.S. isolates itself."

Interviewer: You said that we would respond forcefully to the American measures. What will this response look like?

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki: There are many [possible] measures. The slap we gave the U.S. administration and Israel when Paraguay [moved its embassy back to Tel Aviv] is very important. We are acting on various levels. If the U.S. administration and Israel are upset by our referral to the ICC, then we will focus our actions on the ICC. It upsets the U.S. administration that we oppose the transfer of its embassy to Jerusalem, but we filed a complaint against the U.S. to the ICC…

Interviewer: Did we?

Riyad Al-Maliki: Yes, we filed a complaint against the U.S. for moving its embassy to Jerusalem, to Palestinian land. So we are acting on all these levels. If our joining of international organizations means that the U.S. will quit these organizations, that's fine with us. We are going to work towards joining these organizations. According to a U.S. Congress resolution, the U.S. will quit any organization that Palestine joins. So we are going to work towards joining all these international organizations, in order to make sure that the U.S. isolates itself by quitting all these international organizations. Thus, it will become the only country in the world that does not have any ties with the international community, or channels through which international relations can be conducted.