Abbas to Declare End of Oslo II Accord at UN General Assembly

By Maan News

September 07, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - "Maan" -  BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas will tell the upcoming UN General Assembly that the Palestinian leadership is no longer bound by the Oslo Accords due to Israel's lack of commitment to the 1993 agreement, a PLO official said Sunday.

PLO Executive Committee member Ahmad Majdalani told Ma'an that the decision to no longer abide by Oslo II was drafted by a preparatory committee for the upcoming Palestine National Council (PNC) meeting and will likely be approved during the session scheduled for Sept. 14-15.

The move is based on agreements reached by PLO factions during previous Central Council meetings.

“The Palestinian leadership has decided to terminate the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip known as the Oslo Accords II, which was signed in Taba on September 28, 1995,” Majdalani said.

“In light of the lack of commitment by Israel, the Palestinian leadership has decided that it isn’t bound by the agreement anymore and president Abbas will announce that before the UN General Assembly.”

Future moves will be prepared by a PNC committee, he added, without providing further details.

The official provided no indication of what would become of security coordination between the PA and Israel, a key requirement of Oslo, although he said thatthe leadership in Ramallah has decided to make the PNC a Palestinian parliament and the PLO Executive Committee a Palestinian government.

The Oslo Accords were the first time Israel and the PLO officially recognized each other and stipulated the creation of an interim Palestinian government -- the Palestinian Authority -- to negotiate a framework for full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by 1998.

All fundamental final status issues, such as Jerusalem, borders, settlements, and refugees, were to be discussed after the five-year interim period.

Oslo II created Areas A, B, and C of the occupied West Bank.

The official visited Syria two days ago to meet with Palestinian factions who are not members of the PLO to explain the motivations for the upcoming meeting, saying that the session would challenge the Israeli occupation and was a response to Hamas' alleged talks with Israel "at the expense of internal reconciliation."

Around 26 participants from Syria will participate in the PNC meeting, he added.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command and the Popular Liberation Forces said they would boycott the meeting “but won’t take strict stances against decisions which emerge."
See also
Abbas set to annul Oslo accords, declare Palestine a state under occupation: After voting on the decisions, the Palestinians are expected to announce the annulment of all agreements signed between the PLO and Israel, and to declare a new relationship with the Jewish state.