Abbas declares all agreements with Israel, US null and void

The Palestinian leader also says the Trump administration is “fully responsible for the oppression” of his people.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

In an emergency meeting in Ramallah Tuesday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced that due to Israeli plans to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, all agreements with Israel and the U.S. are null and void.

This would include the Oslo Accords, which was the basis for the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.

“The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones,” Abbas said, according to the Wafa news agency, a PA mouthpiece.

He declared that Israel was fully responsible “as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine.”

Simultaneously, he called for the world to “impose serious sanctions” on the Jewish state to prevent it from “implementing its schemes” to declare sovereignty over the areas mentioned in the Trump peace plan that was unveiled in January.

The PA broke off official ties with the U.S. in a fury after President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in May 2018. It refused to give any input when the administration was crafting its peace plan, known as the “Deal of the Century.”

In his speech, Abbas blasted the American administration as Israel’s “primary partner… in all its aggressive and unfair decisions,” and held it “fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people.”

The PA head, also known as Abu Mazen, threatened to continue the PA lawfare policy against Israel.

“We will continue to pursue the occupation for its crimes against our people at all international authorities and courts. In this context, we affirm our confidence in the independence and integrity of the International Criminal Court (ICC),” he said.

In contravention of the Oslo Accords, the PA has petitioned the ICC to charge Israel with war crimes for its conduct in 2014’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, and for building towns and villages in Judea and Samaria.

Over the years, Abbas has periodically renounced the agreements signed with Israel, declaring Oslo “dead” due to supposed Israeli intransigence in peace negotiations, or in their absence. Such declarations became more frequent after Trump became president and made pro-Israel moves like his recognition of Jerusalem, and of Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights.

Israeli officials doubt that the current declaration will be of any more significance than previous ones, especially since security cooperation with Israel is vital in keeping his Fatah faction in power.

“The chances are small that Abu Mazen will burn this bridge by cutting off ties with Israel, since the agreements serve both sides,” a security official told the Walla! news site on Wednesday.

“If Abu Mazen decides tomorrow to stop his efforts against Hamas and stop the security cooperation [with Israel], he’ll be vulnerable to a determined effort by the group, his sworn enemy.”