Palestine abolishes all deals with Israel, US over West Bank grab

RAMALLAH, West Bank－Palestine on Tuesday declared the abolition of all agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States, following Israel's pledge to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the end of an urgent leadership meeting held in Ramallah late on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear how the announcement would be implemented. The Oslo accords and other agreements in the 1990s created the Palestinian Authority and govern its political, economic and security relations with Israel.

Abbas said Israel will shoulder all responsibilities and obligations as an occupying power, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

The convention holds the occupying power responsible for protecting the civilian population under occupation and their property, criminalizing collective punishment, banning theft of resources, appropriation and annexation of land, and banning forced transfer of the population, he added.

In his speech, Abbas held the US "fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people and we consider it a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government in all its aggressive and unfair decisions and measures against our people".

He urged the countries that have rejected US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, known as Deal of the Century, to take "deterrent steps and impose serious sanctions to prevent the Israeli occupation state from implementing its schemes and its continuing denial of the rights of our people".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements in the West Bank in line with Trump's plan, which overwhelmingly favors Israel and was rejected by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu formed a new Israeli government earlier this month with his chief rival, Benny Gantz, following three elections and more than a year of gridlock. The coalition agreement allows Netanyahu to present an annexation proposal to the government as soon as July 1.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East War. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state, but the Trump plan would leave them with scattered clusters of enclaves surrounded by Israel.

Two-state solution

Most of the international community is opposed to annexation, which many fear would make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state. The two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the decadeslong conflict.

It's unclear to what extent the Palestinian leadership will follow through on the latest announcement. The security coordination serves the interests of both Abbas and Israel because it is largely aimed at the Islamic militant group Hamas, his main rival.

The Palestinian Authority governs and provides basic services to populated areas of the occupied West Bank. Dismantling it would risk chaos and leave tens of thousands of civil servants unemployed. But by referring to the "state of Palestine", Abbas appeared to leave room for it to continue in its present form under a different, and contested, name.

Abbas has always been opposed to violence, meaning Palestinian security forces would likely continue to act against any armed groups, even without formal coordination with Israel.

Xinhua - Agencies