A Palestinian think-tank on Saturday slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s initiative which he says seeks to set a timetable for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The independent Palestinian Affairs Center said the draft resolution seeking to end Israeli occupation, submitted by Jordan to the United Nations on 17 December, contains dangerous parts, arguing that the proposal trades Palestinian rights for statehood.
“The Palestinian Affairs Center, warning of practices by Mahmoud Abbas and those with him, totally rejects that step, and stress that the goal of the Palestinian people has never been to get a state for any price and in return for ceding their rights,” read the statement by the center which described Palestinian officials behind the proposal as “not mandated by anybody to speak for, or represent, Palestinians.”
Abbas’s proposal to the UN in September, as revealed by Turkish Anadolu Agency quoting UN sources, sets a 12-month timetable for ending the 47-year-old Israeli occupation ending with an Israeli and Palestinian sovereign state living peacefully side by side.
The proposal stipulates a full, gradual pullout of Israeli forces from Palestinian territories before the end of 2017, while making Jerusalem a joint capital, a suggestion long rebuffed by Israel.
It also seeks a full UN Palestinian membership instead of the current observer status.
