Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday condemned the recently passed National Referendum Law as an obstacle to peace.
The law will require either a Knesset super-majority or a national referendum in order to hand over any annexed territories as part of a future peace deal.
"This law is aimed at placing obstacles in front of a peace
settlement," Abbas told reporters in Ramallah, where he inaugurated new
headquarters for the PLO.
The Knesset passed the National
Referendum Law during a late-night session Monday,
approving legislation
that will fundamentally alter Israeli negotiators’ ability to offer
concrete peace deals involving the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem. The
law passed by a vote of 65-33.
RELATED:PM: Referendum will prevent an irresponsible agreementBarak, Rivlin blast ministers for okaying referendum bill"The Israelis are telling the world that they won't
withdraw from Jerusalem and the Golan."
Abbas said that he was nevertheless not
opposed to the idea of holding a referendum in Israel after reaching agreement
with the Palestinians and Arabs on a peace settlement.
"They [Israel] can ask
their people about the settlement through a referendum," he said. "But when they
talk about a referendum about this part or that part [of the land], this
constitutes an obstacle to peace."
Abbas said that the PLO headquarters he
inaugurated in Ramallah would move to Jerusalem in the future.
"All our
sovereign institutions are here temporarily," he noted. "In the future they will
all be moved to Jerusalem, the capital of the independent Palestinian state."
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat also condemned the new law. He said that, in
accordance with international law, Israel must pull out not only from east
Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, but the entire territories it captured in
1967.
"It's inconceivable to condition ending the occupation on any
referendum," Erekat stressed. He said the Palestinians rejected any attempt by
Israel to use its democracy as an excuse to deny the Palestinians their rights.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry also condemned the Knesset's decision to pass the law,
which will require either a Knesset super-majority or a national referendum in order to hand over any annexed territories as part of a future peace deal.
"The Knesset's decision to pass the bill makes a mockery of
international law. The international community considers east Jerusalem
and the Syrian Golan Heights to be occupied territories," a Syrian
Foreign Ministry announcement read.
The
statement also said that the law is designed for "those that still
under the illusion that the Israeli government is interested in peace."
The Knesset passed the National Referendum Law during a late-night session Monday, approving legislation that will fundamentally alter Israeli negotiators’ ability to offer concrete peace deals involving the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem. The law passed by a vote of 65-33.