He insisted that the only way Palestinians could achieve statehood was through direct negotiations.
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“We can not continue to be bound by these signed agreements with Israel and Israel must assume fully all its responsibilities as an occupying power”.
Abbas said that there was no reason that the Palestinians should remain faithful to these accords as long as the Israelis were not.
Abbas’ speech reflected growing Palestinian frustration and appeared aimed at focusing the attention of the global community – busy with the Syrian civil war and the migrants’ crisis in Europe – on the long-festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee Saeb Erekat was “disappointed” that Obama failed to address the conflict.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the Palestinian flag-raising ceremony at the U.N, declared that the historic moment would lead to Palestine’s independence, reported the Associated Press. “Because it is the symbol of our identity”, he said.
That means the Oslo Peace Accords, which were thought to be the region’s hope for peace and stability, will no longer be the law of the land – in theory.
No serious talks have been held since Netanyahu came to power in 2009.
As a result, all forms of security coordination between Palestinians and Israelis have been canceled, Barghouti said.
“This is a consolation prize for the Palestinians”, Mr Gowan said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded to Abbas’ speech and claimed the PA president was “encouraging incitement and calamity”.
Giant screens were also set up for the speech in the northern West Bank city and in Hebron in the south, where dozens of Palestinians marched through the streets and fired shots in the air.
‘Palestine, which is an observer state in the United Nations, deserves full recognition and full membership, ‘ he said.
Celebrations started before the flag raising event as the crowds listened to President Mahmoud Abbas addressing the UN General Assembly.
The Palestinians see this as another step toward solidifying their presence in the global arena. Many posed for selfies after the flag was raised.
Clashes in recent weeks between Israeli police and Palestinians at the sensitive compound in occupied East Jerusalem have raised tensions and prompted Abbas to warn of the risk of a third intifada, or uprising.
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The Palestinians campaigned for a General Assembly resolution that was overwhelmingly approved on September 10 allowing the United Nations observer states to fly their flags alongside those of the 193 United Nations member states. “The fact is, the United States continues to support the kind of two-state solution that would result in two states for two peoples with a sovereign, viable Palestinian state living side by side with a Jewish and democratic Israel“.
