The International Police Organization or Interpol has accepted Palestine as its new member.
- Interpol also accepted Solomon Islands as a new member making it a 192-member organization
- The decision was taken during the annual meeting of the Interpol that was held in Beijing.
- More than the required two-thirds majority with 74 member countries approved the proposal and 24 opposed it.
- It will boost Palestine's international status
- Interpol will now listen to complaints from Palestine about alleged acts of terrorism from the Israeli side
- India was the first country to recognise Palestine and later backed its membership to the United Nations
Palestine applied for membership in 2015. Last July, it sent a formal letter promising not to use the organization "for any political, military, racial or religious interventions or activities" and promising to cooperate with Interpol activities, according to the minutes of the Interpol meeting.
About Interpol
- The International Police Organization or INTERPOL is an intergovernmental organization facilitating international police cooperation.
- It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923
- It chose INTERPOL as its telegraphic address in 194 and made it its common name in 1956
- Its current Secretary-General is Jürgen Stock
- Its current President is Meng Hongwei
- It Headquarters in Lyon, France
- Its work focuses primarily on public safety and battling terrorism, crimes against humanity, genocide, environmental crime, war crimes, organized crime, piracy, illicit traffic in works of art, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, cybercrime, intellectual property crime, and corruption.
