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Palestinian Official: Oslo Interim Agreement has Ended | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (AFP)


Ramallah – Palestinian officials said that President Mahmoud Abbas has maintained his decision to stop all forms of communication with Israel, despite the end of the al-Aqsa crisis.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, Ahmed Majdalani, said the decision was not only related to the al-Aqsa crisis, stressing that Palestinians could no longer accept to continue with the Oslo interim agreement.

Majdalani was referring to the Oslo II Accord of 1995, which stipulated the establishment of a Palestinian State within five years from its adoption.

The agreement provided for the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza and the establishment of a “provisional Palestinian autonomous authority” for a transitional period of five years, culminating in a permanent settlement based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.

Majdalani noted that 24 years later, nothing has been achieved.

“It is now necessary to review and evaluate the entire interim agreement. We want new foundations that include a specific agreement over a time ceiling with the Israeli side,” he stated.

“Until then, everything will remain on hold,” he added.

Abbas announced last month the freezing of contacts with Israel on all levels, in response to its security measures in the vicinity of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which caused severe clashes that have since died down.

In remarks on July 21, the Palestinian president said communication with Israel would remain frozen “until Israeli authorities cancel all measures against the Palestinian people in general, the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular.”

Since then, the PA has been freezing contacts with Israel, including security coordination.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abbas has set conditions for the return of security contacts, mainly restoring the situation to what it was before the al-Aqsa Intifada 2000.

According to the sources, this should include stopping any Israeli incursions into Palestinian territories, canceling the role of the Israeli Civil Administration, which was reactivated several years ago, and transferring the civil powers of the PA.

In a statement on Tuesday, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that the Palestinian side was “fully ready to cooperate for the success of any efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, based on the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He added that the Palestinian leadership would focus in the next stage on international protection because of the escalating Israeli aggression against the entire Palestine territories, including Jerusalem and its holy sites.