(JNi.media) Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz said that the Palestinian Authority has in large measure already eliminated the Oslo Accords, because they hardly adhere to any of their accords-related obligations. Speaking on Israeli Radio, Steinitz said measures must be considered should Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announce the unilateral cancellation of the 1993-5 agreements. Steinitz believes Israel’s response on the ground should be harsh, and economic, political and security sanctions should be considered. He reiterated that the Prime Minister was willing to meet with Abbas and to resume negotiations without preconditions.
The Arab news agency “Maan” reported, citing a senior PLO member, that Abbas is expected to announce later this month, at the UN General Assembly, the elimination of all the Palestinian Authority’s agreements with Israel, including the Oslo Accords. The source, former Palestinian Authority government minister Ahmed Majdalani said the PA leadership has already approved the cancellation of security and economic cooperation between the PA and Israel.
Another Palestinian Authority official told Israel Radio that their leadership has not yet confirmed the announcement but stressed that the threat is serious, and that everything will change after Abbas’s speech at the United Nations later this month.
Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, the PLO postponed the vote for a new leadership, a move that’s considered a slight against Abbas who was planning to advance candidates from his circle.
The Palestinian National Assembly has 700 members, many of whom are not physically in the PA at the moment. According to Majdalani, the leadership feared it couldn’t gather the required two-thirds quorum.
Another PLO member told NRG that the delay, until the end of the calendar year, was intended to extend an invitation to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to join.