Palestinian president says decision also extends to security cooperation with Israel; announcement believed to be in response to Jerusalem’s declared plans to declare sovereignty over West Bank settlements, Jordan Valley
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced late Tuesday night that Ramallah will no longer be bound by agreements it has signed with Israel and the United States.
Abbas made the announcement during an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to coordinate the PA response to Israel’s declared intention to extend its sovereignty over West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley.
The announcement is believed to be in response to Israel’s plans to declare sovereignty over the territories after July 1.
Abbas added that the declaration extends to Ramallah’s security cooperation with Israel, seen as vital to keeping violence at a minimum across the area.
“The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones,” the Arab-language Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as saying during the meeting in Ramallah.
“The Israeli occupation authority, as of today, has to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations in front of the international community as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and international humanitarian law,” Abbas said.
“We hold the American administration fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people and we consider it a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government in all its aggressive and unfair decisions and measures against our people.”
The Palestinian Authority cut off ties with the White House in December 2017 after the U.S. declared it was to move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which it did in May 2018.
The PA has also rejected Washington as a mediator in peace talks with Israel, claiming the Trump administration is biased in favor of the Jewish state.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who released his controversial vision for Middle East peace earlier this year, has tentatively given his blessing for Israel to begin annexing large swathes of the West Bank if the Palestinians refuse to engage in negotiations.
Moreover, as part of a new coalition agreement struck between Israel’s two largest parties, the government will be able to move forward on annexation plans after July 1, in accordance with the Trump administration.
As reported by Ynetnews