Palestinian Source: Plan to rid Gaza, West Bank of Israeli presence ready in 2 weeks
On Friday, Mahmoud Abbas said that without a “firm timetable” in place to end the Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank, there’s no value in continuing peace talks.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Doha(photo credit: REUTERS)
A plan to rid Gaza and the West Bank of Israeli presence will be presented to the UN Security Council in about two weeks time, Israel Radio reported Sunday, quoting an unnamed Palestinian source.The source said that they are planning to present the proposal first to Mahmoud Abbas and then work out technical details.Abbas at the UNOn Friday, during his speech at the UN General Assembly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that without a “firm timetable” in place to end the Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank, there’s no value in continuing peace talks."It's high time for this settlement occupation to end now," Abbas told the 193-member world body, which voted overwhelmingly in 2012 to grant the Palestinians de facto statehood by upgrading their UN status from "entity" to "non-member state." This also made the Palestinians eligible to apply for inclusion in the Rome Statute, opening them up to join the International Criminal Court, and possibly bring war crimes charges against Israel.In what appears to be a new phase in the Palestinian diplomatic drive for unilateral recognition of statehood, Abbas said that he would seek the approval of the Security Council for a draft resolution that establishes a timetable for independence.Anna Hiatt contributed to this report.
