REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, UNITED NATIONS -- The Palestinians have become observers at the summit meeting of the 122 countries that are members of the International Criminal Court, a move they said a step toward joining the world's permanent war crimes tribunal.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to seek membership in the ICC in order to press charges against Israel for alleged war crimes. The Palestinian UN ambassador, Dr Riyad H Mansour, said Monday his government was moving in that direction "but that's another step in that process."

The Palestinians' official recognition as an observer came in a procedural move at the opening session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC. Mansour called the assembly's decision "a further enhancement of our status" in the court and in the international arena.

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