Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is intent on going through with his unilateral plan to have the United Nations (UN) Security Council set a deadline for Israel to “end the occupation”.
According to the Ma’an news agency, Abbas said Saturday that the PA leadership would submit its resolution to the UN Security Council this month.
"Israel is violating all international laws by occupying (Palestinian) lands," Abbas said, speaking during a meeting at his Ramallah headquarters.
He also touched on the ongoing tensions in Jerusalem, calling for a return to the status quo.
"We want a statement from the UN affirming the status quo of Jerusalem, applied since 1967, stating that this is a land of Islamic holy sites that should not be attacked," Abbas said, according to Ma’an.
Abbas’s plan, to bypass negotiations and have the UN recognize a Palestinian state, is unilateral and is in violation of the Oslo Accords.
The plans for the resolution have been accompanied by threats from Abbas and his aides. The PA Chairman recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the UN fails.
Nabil Shaath, a leader of Abbas’s Fatah movement, recently threatened Israel with a “political war” if there is a negative response to Abbas’s steps at the United Nations.
The PA has been under intense pressure not to push forward with the Security Council resolution, which Washington would have the power to veto.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated this week that the United States is against the PA’s plan to go to the UN.
Psaki said that Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated to Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, during a Monday meeting in Washington, that the U.S. was opposed “to unilateral steps by either party that attempt to prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations.”