Continuing his contentious approach towards Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened Tuesday that he would stop his security cooperation with Israel in the case that his proposed United Nations Security Council resolution against Israel is vetoed.
Abbas said he would submit the plan, mandating an Israeli withdrawal within a defined time frame, in two to three weeks to the UN Security Council. Should the US choose to veto the resolution, Abbas said he would then go the ICC route, which could potentially lead to a war crimes probe against Israel, and even against the Palestinians themselves.
Abbas also said the Palestinian Authority would reconsider relations with Israel, including security coordination, should the bid fail.
Abbas’ reported plans echoed elements of the speech he gave earlier this week at the United Nations General Assembly. An editorial in The Washington Post responded to the speech by blasting Abbas’ proposed Security Council gambit arguing that it “would almost certainly prompt retaliatory sanctions by Mr. Netanyahu’s government and possibly by Congress.” State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki described Abbas’ UN speech as “counterproductive.”
Though Abbas said that he would prevent violence against Israel in the absence of security cooperation, his effort to pressure Israel by appealing to international institutions violates the accepted principle that all “outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations.”
[Photo: euronews (in English) / YouTube ]