Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday night declared an end to working on all the signed agreements with Israel.
Speaking at an emergency urgent meeting in Ramallah, Abbas pinned the decision to quit negotiations on Israel’s demolition of 10 illegal Arab owned buildings in the Sur Baher neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem, which had obtained permits from the Palestinian Authority and were located in Area A, which is under the full jurisdiction of the Authority.
“We will not succumb to the dictates and the imposing of a fait accompli on the ground with brute force, specifically in Jerusalem,” Abbas said, calling everything that Israel is carrying out in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem “illegal and void.”
Abbas blamed “The American administration, through its biased policies toward Israel and its attempts to change international terms of reference through its deal with that century, provides cover for Israeli violations against our people, which we have rejected and will continue to reject in compliance with international law, UN resolutions and the interests of our people and their rights. Our Palestinian people, with their steadfastness and peaceful popular resistance, are going to foil the Israeli and American plans alike.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in response that suspending the agreements with Israel is a step in the right direction, which must be followed with a full withdrawal from the Oslo agreement and all its obligations.
These include the security cooperation between Israel and the PA, which is the foundation of the entire Oslo framework. To date, this collaboration has been the only positive outcome from Oslo, as the PA security services have been alerting the Shin Bet and the IDF regarding terrorist activities in the PA, and supporting Israeli anti-terror operations.
On Friday morning, the IDF arrested seven youths in various points in the PA, supported by PA security forces.
It should be noted that the Abbas speech received very little attention in Israel’s media.