Palestinian President Abbas Suspends All Agreements With Israel

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas suspended all agreements with Israel Thursday which means ending all working agreements and halting all signed agreements. 

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Abbas announced the measure at a meeting with the Palestinian leadership. This came after Israel destroyed Palestinian homes in Sur Baher in occupied East Jerusalem Monday. 

The president said the suspension will take effect by Friday. 

"We will not succumb to the dictates and the imposing of a fait accompli on the ground with brute force, specifically in Jerusalem," he said. "All that the (Israeli) occupation state is doing is illegal and void."

The Israeli occupation forces demolished 11 Palestinian homes next to the illegal Israeli separation barrier on the outskirts of eastern Jerusalem Monday. The barrier severs Jerusalem from West Bank. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the barrier violated international law. 

"Our hands have been and are still extended to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. But this does not mean that we accept the status quo or surrender to the measures of the occupation. We will not surrender and we will not coexist with the occupation, nor will we accept the 'deal of the century.' Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale or bargain. They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company,” Abbas said. 

He also stressed that no peace and security will be achieved and “no matter how much time it takes, the repugnant occupation is going to be defeated and our future state will be independent.”

Thanking the international solidarity movement with Palestine, Abbas added that it is time to implement the Egypt-mediated Cairo 2017 agreement for intra-Palestinian reconciliation. 

"We do not want to return to the tragic results of the Moscow meeting when Hamas refused to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, which put it in line with Israel and the United States on this matter. My hand is extended for reconciliation and it is time to get more serious," he said.