Continuing his contentious approach towards Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Saturday of promoting an “apartheid” government instead of working to advance the peace process. “We will never recognize the Jewishness of the state of Israel,” he said (Arabic link).
Addressing a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo, Abbas threatened that the Palestinian Authority will seek membership of the International Criminal Court and reassess its security cooperation with Israel if the United Nations Security Council does not adopt a Palestinian statehood resolution, Haaretz reported.
Abbas threatened that if the UN resolution doesn’t pass and negotiations don’t resume on the basis of the 1967 borders, “we will seek Palestinian membership in international organizations, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague. We will also reassess our ties with Israel including ending the security cooperation between us.”
Meanwhile, Arab League foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to formally present a draft resolution to the Security Council that will set a timetable for the creation of an independent Palestinian state. The statement did not specify when the resolution would be presented, but diplomatic sources have said Jordan, a new member of the Security Council, could present the draft within days.
Abbas’ decision to avoid peace talks and pursue unilateral action was echoed in elements of a speech, panned by The Washington Post as “bridge burning,” which he gave earlier this year at the United Nations General Assembly. Though Abbas said that he would prevent violence against Israel in the absence of security cooperation, his effort to pressure Israel by appealing for international recognition and membership in international institutions violates the accepted principle that all “outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations.”
However, Abbas’ efforts to procure international recognition of a Palestinian state may be only symbolic. Writing recently at Ynet, Middle East analyst Yaron Friedman of the Technion says Abbas’ defiant rhetoric belies the trouble he is in at home. The Palestinian public sees that the Palestinian Authority is unable to reach a compromise with Israel in bilateral talks, has lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas, and is only kept in power by having their security forces cooperate with Israel in the West Bank to prevent a second coup.
[Photo: World Economic Forum / flickr]