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Abbas confidant: 'Bombshell' speech will be no surprise

Palestinian Authority president to deliver UN speech this week, and while he vowed to 'drop a bombshell', an official says Arab and international nations have been briefed on the contents.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not "surprise" in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, said Mahmoud Habbash, Abbas's confidant and a former minister of religious affairs, on Monday.

 

"There will be no surprise that Arab and international officials haven't heard about before," Habbash told an Arab media outlet.

 

 

"Abu Mazen (Abbas) has briefed the Arab nations, the American government and European countries on the outline of his speech, which received support from all Arab nations," said Habbash, speaking about a week and a half after Abbas vowed to "drop a bombshell" in his speech.

 

Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations (Photo: AFP) (Photo: AFP)
Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations (Photo: AFP)

Earlier this month, Abbas stated that his speech would focus on the Oslo accords and the alleged Israeli violations of the agreement, like the destruction of Palestinian structures in areas A and B.

 

Habbash arrived in New York over the weekend and met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Habbash declared that the Palestinian demand is for Israel to commit to negotiations based on a clear source of authority, or else the Palestinians would no longer be committed to any agreements.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations (Photo: AP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations (Photo: AP)

 

There has been some tension in Israel ahead of Abbas's speech, despite Jerusalem's assessment that he does not intend to announce the abrogation of the Oslo Accords. The Palestinian issue is not expected to be the focus of the general assembly, but is likely to be an addendum to the conflict in Syria, the nuclear agreement with Iran and the refugee crisis in Europe.

 

A senior source in the Foreign Ministry said that "experience shows that whenever they threaten and make a show – in the end they do it, whether by going to UN agencies or to the ICC in The Hague. There is a lot of pessimism that it's not going in a good direction."

 

John Kerry and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AP) (Photo: AP)
John Kerry and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AP)

 

Last week Abbas said in a meeting with four former Israeli ambassadors that he does not intend to cancel existing agreements. On the other hand, he said he was unwilling to tolerate a situation in which, he said, the Palestinians adhere to their Oslo commitments – first and foremost in the matter of security cooperation – while Israel allegedly violates its own commitments.

 

He said one of two things would happen: Either negotiations would resume in good faith and without conditions, or he would demand that Israel deliver on all its commitments in prior agreements.

 

"Both Arafat and I adhered to all the articles of the Oslo Accords since they were signed," said Abbas. "Netanyahu systematically violates them, and if he continues to do so I will have no choice but to stop honoring the accords."

 

According to Habbash, Abbas told Kerry during their meeting that he would return to negotiations if all building in settlements was frozen and if Israel agreed to a fourth round of releasing prisoners.

 

According to a senior Palestinian source, Kerry asked Abbas to refrain from making significant decisions for the next six months, as the US government needs that time to fully complete the nuclear agreement with Iran before it can devote itself to advancing the peace process.

 

The source said that Abbas neither rejected nor accepted this request and has been considering accepting a proposal establishing that if the US fails in the next round of negotiations – should such a thing transpire – it must commit to recognizing a Palestinian state and not oppose draft proposals in the UN Security Council to "end the Israeli occupation".

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to depart for New York on Tuesday. He is to be present in the city during Abbas's speech, but will speak himself only on Thursday. A day after that, he will have a meeting with Kerry.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.28.15, 12:41
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