'PA to Cancel all Security Commitments to Israel'

by Jerusalem Post Staff


The Palestinian Authority will stop coordinating its security with Israel, in response to the US's official announcement that peace talks have failed, Al Quds al-Arabi reported on Friday.

Hana Amireh, a PLO official, told the UK newspaper that the PA is also considering canceling its other commitments to Israel, including the Oslo Accords and the Road Map, which demand that terror organizations will stop.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior PLO official and an adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly plans to convene a meeting with the PLO and Fatah central committees on Friday afternoon, in order to make a new plan for the Palestinians.

Palestinian officials told Al Quds al-Arabi that they expect US President Barack Obama to attempt to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Maybe the meeting will give the American government another chance," an official told the paper.

The Palestinians are also considering seeking the UN Security Council's recognition of a Palestinian state on all the Palestinian territories that were captured by Israel in 1967.

In October, Abed Rabbo warned that the PA would unilaterally abrogate the Oslo Accords if the peace process broke down.

“We can’t remain committed to the agreements that were signed with Israel forever,” he said. “One party can’t remain committed while the other party has violated the agreements and even canceled them.”

Government sources in Jerusalem were unfazed by Abed Rabbo’s threat at the time.

“We hear these sorts of things now and again from the Palestinians, that Abbas will resign, they are going to dismantle the PA, that they are going to take everything to the UN, that they are going to give up on a twostate solution,” one government source said.

“But it is not serious. Everyone understands that the only way to achieve peace is through direct negotiations, everything else is not serious,” the source said.

Khaled Abu Toameh and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

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