Abbas hints at dissolving PA in response to annexation

In the past, Abbas has made several threats to dismantle the PA and “and hand the keys back to Israel” in response to Israeli policies and decisions.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
PA PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas – ‘He makes threats and engages in fiery rhetoric as part of a strategy to appease the Palestinian public.’ (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)
PA PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas – ‘He makes threats and engages in fiery rhetoric as part of a strategy to appease the Palestinian public.’
(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hinted on Wednesday that the Israeli plan to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank would lead to the dismantlement of the PA.
Abbas said that his decision to renounce agreements and understandings with Israel and the US, including security cooperation, does not mean that the Palestinians don’t want peace.
In a speech via video conference before the Arab Parliament, the legislative body of the Arab League, Abbas said that, if implemented, the annexation plan would mean that Israel would have “to assume its responsibilities over the occupied territories in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
According to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons on Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention, “persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.” It also states that ‘the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
A PA official said that Abbas’s talk about Israel “assuming its responsibilities over the occupied territories” is a clear message that he intends to dissolve the PA if and when the annexation plan is implemented.
In the past, Abbas has made several threats to dismantle the PA and “hand the keys back to Israel,” in response to Israeli policies and decisions.
In his speech, Abbas explained that his decision to walk away from the agreements and understandings with Israel and the US was the result of Israel’s failure to adhere to these accords. “Israel has destroyed these agreements and continues to violate international law, thus destroying the peace process with the backing of the US administration,” Abbas said.
The decision to renounce the agreements and understandings, however, “does not mean that we don’t want peace. We extend our hands in peace and we are prepared to go to an international conference for peace and work through a multilateral mechanism, which is the Quartet [UN, EU, Russia and US] that would sponsor the negotiations on the basis of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
Abbas said that a Palestinian state already exists “on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital.” He pointed out that 150 states have recognized the Palestinian state, which enjoys the status of observer at the UN General Assembly and is a member of dozens of international agencies and treaties.
Abbas repeated his rejection of the annexation plan and US President Donald Trump’s plan for Mideast peace, also known as the Deal of the Century. “We reject the annexation of any inch of the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said. “This illegal move would entail the occupation assuming all responsibilities for the occupied land as an Occupying Power, in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
Abbas added that the Palestinians were working with the EU to take immediate measures to stop the annexation plan and recognize the Palestinian state. The Palestinians, he said, have also “received assurances from all the Arab countries that they are committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, refuse any peace relations with Israel before achieving peace [between Israel and the Palestinians] and reject any normalization steps with Israel.”
In a related development, the PLO Executive Committee, the Fatah Central Committee and the PA government held a joint meeting on Wednesday in the Jordan Valley village of Fasayil to voice their rejection of the annexation plan.
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the meeting was intended to send a message to the UN Security Council, the US and Israel that the land belongs to the Palestinians and Arabs. “There is no such thing as a big or small annexation,” Shtayyeh said during the meeting. “We are against any annexation.”


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