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Mahmoud Abbas says he is no longer bound to agreement signed with Israel
Abbas says he is no longer bound to agreement signed with Israel – YouTube
Mahmoud Abbas criticized Israel for making efforts to destroy the two-state solution. Regarding Israel’s settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land, Abbas said construction activity has increased by at least 20 percent since the US president urged Tel Aviv to halt its settlement activities two years ago. Speaking at the UN 70th General Assembly in New York, Abbas also questioned how long Israel could remain above the law with impunity. The Palestinian president also criticized the UN for being unable to end the injustice inflicted on the Palestinians, adding that the continuation of the status-quo is unacceptable. Abbas urged the Security Council and the general assembly to uphold their responsibilities before it’s too late.
Widespread Palestinian Approval of Abbas’s UN Speech
Mahmoud Abbas Says Palestinians No Longer Bound By Accord With Israel
The Palestinian Authority president told the United Nations that Israel has failed to honor its obligations to pursue a two-state solution.
UNITED NATIONS – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that the Palestinians are no longer obligated to abide by accord it signed with Israel because that country has continuously violated its agreements.
Speaking to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Abbas said Palestinians should not be bound by the Oslo Accord, which serves as the basis for negotiations toward a two-state solution.
“We declare that as long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, which render us an authority without real powers, and as long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them,” Abbas said. “We, therefore, declare that we cannot continue to be bound by these agreements and that Israel must assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power, because the status quo cannot continue.”
It’s unclear what practical effect the statement will have on the situation on the ground in Israel, although the rhetoric will significantly escalate already-heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Several isolated incidents have occurred in recent holiday weeks over a holy site in Jerusalem, but violence so far has not risen to a level requiring coordinated government response. Last summer, tit-for-tat attacks between Israelis and Palestinians culminated in a full-fledged war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing over 2,000 people.
Abbas’ remarks come as a growing number of countries have recognized Palestinian statehood, and even U.S. allies in Europe have expressed frustration with the lack of progress toward a negotiated political settlement. The Palestinian leader has increasingly agitated for the United Nations to take a greater role in forcing a solution and threatened to join the International Criminal Court in a bid to hold Israel accountable for what Palestinians describe as war crimes………………………
Speech at the 70th General Assembly in New York, Sept. 30, 2015
Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2015/09/mahmoud-abbas-says-he-is-no-longer.html
