US Concerned Over Palestinian Bid for ICC Membership: State Department

WASHINGTON, December 31 (Sputnik) – Washington is concerned over Palestinian Authority's signing a treaty that might lead to the country's joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), US State Department spokesperson Jeff Rathke said in the statement Wednesday.

"We are deeply troubled by today's Palestinian action regarding the ICC," Rathke said. "It is an escalatory step that will not achieve any of the outcomes most Palestinians have long hoped to see for their people."

On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed more than 20 requests to join various international organizations, including the ICC, after UN Security Council failed to pass he resolution on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

The application for the ICC membership is an attempt to continue to seek the adoption of UN Security Council resolution on ending the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel. But Rathke called the Palestinian leader's move counter-productive.

"It badly damages the atmosphere with the very people with whom they ultimately need to make peace," he said in the release. "Actions like this are not the answer. Hard as it is, all sides need to find a way to work constructively and cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and find a path forward."

The spokesperson stressed the United States continued to strongly oppose actions by both parties involved, and called on focusing the efforts on creating an environment for meaningful talks.

"While we are under no illusions regarding the difficult road of negotiations, direct negotiations are ultimately the only realistic path for achieving the aspirations of both peoples," the statement read. "All of us would like to see the day when that effort can resume, and can lead to the peace that we all know is the only real, sustainable answer to the underlying causes of this conflict."

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council rejected the Palestinian statehood resolution, with eight nations, including Russia, supporting the document, the United States and Australia voting against it and five countries abstaining.

The UN regulations state that, in order to be adopted, a document must be supported by at least nine nations, with all five permanent representatives of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom) voting in favor.

The failed resolution stipulated the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967, with Tel Aviv withdrawing all of its forces by the end of 2017.