Abbas' resolve is under question

The Palestinian Authority says it is pursuing a so-called Arab peace plan that is said to be aiming to form a Palestinian state. The Authority has even threatened to table a draft resolution at the UNSC, outlining a two-year timeframe for the withdrawal of the Zionist regime from the 1967 occupied lands. There are facts at hand however that shows the Authority is not serious in its campaign and actually pretends to be pursuing the initiative.

For one thing, the Arab plan suffers major glitches, including the very two-year timeframe. Actually, the two-year period would offer the regime a olden respite for completing its settlement projects and annex the remaining Palestinian areas in the occupied West Bank.

The other reason is that the two-year period would coincide with the 2016 US presidential elections, opening the way for the US parties to compete over their loyalty to Israel while pro-Israel lobby would pressure them to give concessions over their ties to Israel. The prospective situation would bar the US government from meeting its relevant commitments to the Palestinians.

The argument shows that the two-year period lacks any logic and may not help restore the Palestinian interests.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Authority gave up its efforts for the formation of national unity government, further giving rise to questions over its bid for the formation of a future Palestinian state. The divisive stance has come amid the Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to further unite the Israeli ranks through snap elections.

One may also note the murdering of Ziad Abu Ein, the PA minster of anti-settlement efforts that bore a clear message for the Palestinian Authority. A future Palestinian state would not be formed unless the Jewish settlements are uprooted. The Authority however has adopted no major reaction.

The last but not the least point is that the key broker of the Arab plan is the Saudi Arabia which in the past months has made the largest coordination with the Zionist regime in the region. Saudi Arabia has even gone far to the extent that it has replaced the Arab-Israeli conflict with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in its official correspondent, further steering away from the Palestinian side. The country even seeks to tighten the situation for the pro-Palestinian force in the region by its oil dumping project.

Ahmad Kazemzadeh