Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasReuters

The official Palestinian Authority (PA) Wafa news agency reported on Wednesday that the PA cabinet convened an emergency meeting to discuss the implementation of the decisions announced by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas regarding the future of relations with Israel and the United States.

Kan 11 News reported following the meeting that PA cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh had instructed his ministers to begin taking practical steps to implement the decision to halt relations between the PA and the US and Israel.

At a Palestinian leadership meeting on Tuesday evening, Abbas declared an end to the agreements and understandings signed with Israel and the United States in response to Israel’s plans to declare sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

Abbas said that from now on, Israel, as the occupying power, should bear full responsibility for Palestinian residents and comply with international law.

At the same time, Abbas said that the “State of Palestine” will complete the process of applying to join additional international organizations and treaties.

He called on all countries to officially recognize the State of Palestine and made it clear that the Palestinians would continue to persecute Israel in the legal arena in order to bring it to justice for "war crimes".

The PA is outraged over the coalition agreement between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, which stipulates that the government can apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria this coming July.

The new Israeli government was sworn-in on Sunday. During the ceremony, Netanyahu reiterated his support for the sovereignty move.

The PA has also condemned the perceived US support for the sovereignty move. The PA “justice minister” recently threatened the US with lawsuits for supporting it.