If the UN accepts Palestine as a nonmember state, effectively recognizing its bid to become a state, Israel may cancel all or part of the Oslo accords according to reports, and may even go as far as working to oust Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas from his position.
The Foreign Ministry has instructed embassies to alert foreign leaders that an attempt to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state is a violation of Oslo, and to work with them to thwart a Palestinian statehood bid. Nonetheless, Abbas has said he will attempt to get UN recognition for a Palestinian state, urging the UN General Assembly on November 29 – the anniversary of the UN Partition Plan and the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – to accept it as a nonmember state.
An overwhelming majority of the 193 member states are expected to agree.
A Palestinian nonmember state would not have a General Assembly vote, but would fall under the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, where it could bring cases against Israeli authority in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.
Rumors are also circulating that a statehood bid would cause Israel to stop transferring tax money Israel collects for the PA to the organization, and to cancel permits which enable Palestinians to work inside “mainland” Israel. According to a report by Channel 2, the Foreign Ministry is also weighing the possibility of assisting opposition to Abbas in investigating corruption allegations which would delegitimize him and cause him to lose popular support.
“The Palestinian resolution is a clear violation of the fundamental principle of negotiations,” Roni Leshno-Yaar, head of Israel’s foreign ministry division for international organizations, told Ha’aretz.
“The adoption of the resolution will give Israel the right to re-evaluate previous agreements with the PLO and consider canceling them partially or completely, and would make progress in the peace process more difficult in the future,” he added.
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan called for the immediate annexation of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as a response to the Palestinian statehood bid.
A report in Ha’aretz this morning suggests Foreign Minister Liberman is considering a draft document that would offer the Palestinians immediate recognition of statehood along temporary borders, as a type of “carrot” incentive for the Palestinians to drop their campaign at the United Nations.