At an initial and general glance, this was apparently a speech that brought "more of the same." An attack that sends a curb towards Israel and battered accusations that have been heard more than once in the past. However, beyond the well-worn and venomous statements that the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, wove in his speech from the stage of the National Assembly against Israel, it was possible to notice something else.
Abu Mazen's speech at the United Nations // Photo: Reuters
The Palestinian leader who regularly expresses hope and confidence in achieving peace, sounded less decisive last Friday.
"Confidence in the ability to achieve peace is in retreat," Abbas stated.
The staunch optimist no longer seems so optimistic, and it is clear that the feelings of the Palestinian street seeped into him as well.
Palestinian policemen, photo: EPA
"There is no Israeli partner that you can talk to. Israel, with its policy, is destroying the two-state solution. We will not agree to remain the only party bound by the signed agreements, and we have the right to implement the decisions made in our institutions in order to preserve our rights," he said in an implied threat and in a relatively refined tone, referring to the Central Council's decisions of the wizard calling for the suspension of recognition of Israel and relations with it.
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However, Abbas tried to convey to the world that even at the end of his days he still does not completely give up on peace, and leaves an opening for a political process with his call to Prime Minister Lapid to immediately sit down for negotiations around the table following the latter's declaration of his support for the two-state solution.
"Even if the chances of that at this stage are not many, and even if the Israeli government did it to please the world or for political reasons ahead of your elections, it doesn't matter. We are not closing the door to peace, and you will not be able to portray us as refusing peace. This is Israel's last chance and the world to move forward in the process," they said in Ramallah following the speech.
Mourners carry the body of Firas Yaish, who was killed in clashes between protesters and the Palestinian security forces, photo: AFP
"We will not wait for Israel forever. President Abbas is ready to sit down with the Israelis but also reserves the right to make other moves such as applying to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and renewing the request to recognize Palestine as a state with the status of a full member of the United Nations.
There is no contradiction between the two things.
Prime Minister Lapid, like Biden, said he supports the 2-state vision. But where are the mechanisms for implementation? Are the Israelis ready to sit down for negotiations and agree on the establishment of a Palestinian state within the borders of '67, with East Jerusalem as its capital?" Palestinian officials wondered, in what signals Abbas' desire Having all the options in his hands and a threat on his side, I want to say, if he does not initiate a political move, there are also other routes.
Abbas's opponents called the speech a "pleading speech", and criticized what they called the "slackness" he demonstrated when he rolled the ball to the world, asking the international community to accept responsibility and find a solution to the Palestinian issue, while emphasizing his adherence to the fight against terrorism, while ignoring "the Palestinian resistance" .
Along with this, some expressed satisfaction with the last part of the speech, in which the chairman of the PA praised the Palestinian prisoners as a miracle and called them heroes, while waving a picture of the terrorist, Nasser Abu Hamid, imprisoned in Israel.
Be that as it may, upon his return to Mukatea, the chairman of the Authority will have to make decisions regarding dealing with the security escalation in the territories. With the exception of one case of the arrest of a Hamas member in Nablus by the Palestinian security forces, in recent months the Authority has chosen to sit on the fence. However, Palestinian officials told "Israel Today" that this issue is currently being discussed on the Palestinian side and that one of the ways of action being considered is the carrying out of an initiative by the Palestinian security forces to arrest armed men in northern Judea and Samaria.
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