Abbas: We are no longer bound by agreements with US and Israel, including security

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced late Tuesday night that Ramallah will no longer be bound by agreements it has signed with Israel and the United States.

The announcement is believed to be in response to Israel’s intended plans to declare sovereignty over territories located in the West Bank after July 1. Abbas added that the declaration extends to Ramallah’s security cooperation with Israel, seen as vital to keeping violence at a minimum across the country.

“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,” the Arab-language Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as saying during an emergency meeting with PA officials in Ramallah.

“The Israeli occupation authority, as of today, has to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations in front of the international community as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and international humanitarian law,” he continued.

Abbas added: “We hold the American administration 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.”

The Palestinian Authority cut off ties with the White House in December 2017 after declaring the US would move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It has also rejected Washington as a mediator in peace talks with Israel, claiming the Trump administration is biased in favor of Israel.

US President Donald Trump, who released his controversial vision for Middle East peace earlier this year, has tentatively given his blessing for Israel to begin annexing large swaths of the West Bank if the Palestinians refuse to engage in negotiations.

Moreover, as part of a new coalition agreement struck between Israel’s two largest parties, the government will be able to move forward on annexation plans after July 1 but in accordance with the Trump administration.