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Abbass to Withdraw Recognition of Israel If U.S. Embassy Is Moved to Jerusalem | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, holds a copy of the letter requesting Palestinian statehood as he speaks during the United Nations General Assembly September 23, 2011 at UN headquarters in New York. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA / AFP PHOTO / STAN HONDA


Ramallah – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presided a higher committee meeting to consider the measure that should be taken in case the U.S. embassy was transferred to Jerusalem. The committee issued several recommendations including announcement of Palestinian state instead of authority, election of a new parliament, and withdrawal of recognition of Israel.

Saeb Erekat, senior Palestinian negotiator, issued a study entitled: “Decisions that Meet the Challenge” which concluded the decisions of the committee such as: Palestine would revoke its 1993 decision to recognize the State of Israel, as well as considering the National Council a parliament.

The commission included: former negotiator and member of Fatah Mohammed Ashtieh, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, Chief of Intelligence Maj-Gen Majed Faraj, political advisor to president Majdi al-Khalidi, with the participation of a follow-up committee formed of members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Central Committee of the Fatah movement, and a number of members of the Palestinian government.

The Committee has reached the recommendations in case the U.S. administration proceeded to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as follows: transition from authority to the State on the basis of General Assembly Resolution 67/19/2012, consider the President (President of the State of Palestine), Executive Committee of the PLO ‘s interim government, the National Council as the Parliament.

The committee added that it will change the function of power in line with the implementation of the Palestinian Central Council’s decisions which would determine the nature of relations with Israel and the transition from authority to the state.

The government would then call for parliamentary elections, and if that failed to happen, a council of state would be formed in accordance with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Recommendations included 25 items that depicted the immediate withdrawal of the recognition of Israel, and conditioned the recognition with mutual acceptance between Israel and Palestine, as well as being invited to summits of Arab countries, Muslim countries, Non – Aligned Movement, African Union, as well as the European Union and Latin America.

The committee also recommended asking for a draft resolution before the Security Council to condemn the move of the embassy and consider it a null and void step which should be undone. If it were vetoed, they would immediately resort to the General Assembly and call for a meeting under Uniting of Peace.

State of Palestine would also join international organizations, such as the WIPO, WHO, and FAO.

In addition, the committee would request for full membership of the State of Palestine at the U.N. Security Council, abolish the causes of division, form of a government of national unity with the program of the PLO and call for elections.

The attendees asked to make border of 1967 the actual border of Palestine borders which includes: West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

These recommendations, and many others, were developed during the past few weeks following U.S President Donald Trump’s promise to move the embassy. Recent update suggest the move may not be very soon, which kind of relieved Palestinians.