Palestinians mock Abbas 'ultimatum' to Israel

• Published date: 26 September 2021
• Author: KHALED ABU TOAMEH
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Abbas issued his ultimatum to Israel on Friday in a pre-recorded speech before the United Nations General Assembly's 76th session in New York.

Referring to his plan to convene an international peace conference under the auspices of the Quartet members – the US, European Union, Russia and the UN – Abbas said: "To ensure our initiative is not open-ended, we must state that Israel, the occupying power, has one year to withdraw from the Palestinian territory it occupied in 1967, including east Jerusalem, and we are ready to work throughout this year on the delineation of borders and solving all final status issues under the auspices of the international Quartet and in accordance with United Nations resolutions."

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Abbas warned that if the demand is not met, the Palestinians will revoke their recognition of Israel and go to the International Court of Justice.

Addressing Israeli leaders, Abbas said: "Do not oppress and corner the Palestinian people and deprive them of dignity and the right to their land and state, as you will destroy everything. Our patience and the patience of our people have limits. This is our land, our Jerusalem, our Palestinian identity, and we shall defend it until the occupier leaves."

Senior PA officials and the ruling Fatah faction heaped praise on Abbas, describing his speech as "courageous, unprecedented and historic" and saying it represented a "milestone" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh hailed the speech and said it "placed the international community in front of its responsibilities to end the Israeli occupation."

Shtayyeh described the speech as a "road map to end the occupation within a year," adding that it should lead to "either a [Palestinian] state on the borders of 1967 or a state on the borders of 1947 in accordance with [UN] Partition Resolution 181."

He was referring to the UN General Assembly resolution that called for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The resolution was accepted by the Jews in Palestine, but rejected by the Arabs.

Several Fatah officials, including Jibril Rajoub, also praised Abbas's address and said that his statements expressed the wishes of all Palestinians.

Many Palestinians, however, scoffed at Abbas's speech, especially his one-year ultimatum to Israel to withdraw...