Palestinian officials have welcomed any initiative to salvage the peace process despite a decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to end all agreements with Israel and the US, including security coordination with Israel.
“We kept the door open to any serious initiative that aims to revive an international multifaceted peace process,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told EU parliament members during a videoconference on Thursday.
“The success of a peace process is linked to an honest meditator, clear principles, a serious partner and a defined timeframe,” he said.
The PM said Israel violated all signed agreements with the Palestinian Authority. “We cannot continue to unilaterally respect those agreements,” Shtayyeh added.
He stressed the importance of an EU role in confronting Israeli settlements and continuous attempts to undermine the sovereignty and independence of the State of Palestine.
The PA is holding intense talks with several countries to prevent Israel from implementing its plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. The plan would slam the door on fresh negotiations and threaten efforts to advance regional and international peace.
Shtayyeh had warned that Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territory would wipe out international law and threaten regional security.
This week, the PLO Executive Committee confirmed Abbas’ recent announcement on renouncing all agreements and understandings with Israel and the US.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested clarifications from the PA regarding his decision, Omar Awadallah, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official, said.
The Court asked Palestine to "provide additional information on this matter, including with regard to the Oslo agreements between Palestine and Israel,” said Awadallah, noting that “the Court will shoulder its responsibilities as the party investigating the crimes in Palestine, and that the declaration will not affect Palestine's status on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, along with the subsequent recognition by the countries of the world and the change of its status to an observer member in the United Nations in 2012.”
