UNITED NATIONS —
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared before world leaders Wednesday that he is no longer bound by agreements signed with Israel and called on the United Nations to provide international protection for Palestinians, in the most serious warning yet that he might walk away from engagement with the Jewish state.
Abbas, however, stopped short of accompanying his threat with a deadline or giving any specifics, leaving room for diplomatic maneuvers to refocus the world’s attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas did not say how he will move forward. He also avoided mentioning a mainstay of Israeli-Palestinian relations — security coordination between his security forces and Israeli forces in the West Bank against a shared enemy, the Islamic terrorist group Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to denounce Abbas’ speech.
In a statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said Abbas’ “speech of lies encourages incitement and unrest in the Middle East.”
Netanyahu called on Abbas to “act responsibly” and answer his proposal for direct negotiations with Israel without any preconditions.
“The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement,” the statement said.
Abbas’ comments reflect deep frustration, even desperation.
It came after years of paralysis in attempts to negotiate Palestinian statehood with Israel and several months after Netanyahu formed a right-wing government that has continued settlement expansion on war-won lands the Palestinians want for their state.
With negotiations frozen, Abbas has failed to come up with a political alternative.
His hopes of creating a Palestinian state through negotiations with Israel have been derailed.
