BREAKING NEWS

Fatah officials angry at PA decision to delay statehood bid

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012 05:21

The Palestinian Authority’s decision to postpone plans to seek UN membership next month has angered some Fatah officials in the West Bank.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas was expected to ask the UN General Assembly this month to grant non-member status for a Palestinian state in the international body. Nonmember status does not require the approval of the Security Council.

In recent weeks, Abbas and other PA officials had stressed that the PA was determined to renew its bid for recognition of statehood and membership at the UN despite objections from Israel and the US.

But last week, PA Foreign Minister Riad Maliki, in a surprise move, announced that Abbas would not present a request for membership in the UN during his speech before the General Assembly in late September. The decision to delay the request was taken following heavy pressure from the US administration and some EU countries.

Maliki hinted that the statehood bid had been delayed until after the US presidential election. His announcement drew sharp criticism from Tawfik Tirawi, a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee and former head of the PA’s General Intelligence Service in the West Bank.

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