Two weeks before his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 29, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has stated that he will, “Drop a ‘bombshell’ at the end of my speech at the General Assembly, and I refuse to reveal what that bombshell is.”
The Palestinian president’s remarks were made during an interview with Arab media which is set to air next week.
Abbas stated that his speech will focus on the Oslo accords, and the alleged Israeli violations of the agreement, like the destruction of Palestinian structures in areas A and B.
President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) (Photo:AP)
Abbas also attacked the concept of the Jewish state in the interview, and stated that it provides radical groups like ISIS with legitimacy for their religious wars in the Middle East.
“If Israel wants to be a Jewish state, it provides legitimacy to ISIS and others who seek to establish an Islamic state in Syria, Egypt, and Gaza,” he said.
Abbas also reacted to recent events at Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount) in the Old City of Jerusalem, saying that Israel is once again trying to divide the compound between Jews and Muslims in terms of space and prayer times. He clarified that the Palestinians will never let something like that happen.
Israeli officials have had a hard time trying to guess what Abbas is planning, and worry that he himself has not come to a decision, due to the pressures being imposed on him.
Among the considered possibilities are the cancellation of the Oslo accords, dismantling the Palestinian Authority – leaving Israel responsible for the entire Palestinian population as an occupying force or declaring Palestine a “State under occupation” (international law terminology), which allows them to seek protection from the international community, while turning to the UN Security Council in an attempt to grant Palestine full state status.
Israeli officials are already warning that if Abbas “breaks the rules,” Israel will review the possibility of exiling him, or blockade him within the West Bank – similar to what was done with Yasser Arafat.
