Abbas Gives Israel One Year to Withdraw from Palestinian Territory

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that Israel has one year to withdraw from the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, it occupied in 1967.

Abbas argued that without this condition being met, the Palestinian recognition of Israel on the 1967 borders might be questionable.

The statement was made in a pre-recorded speech which was aired before the UN General Assembly’s 76th session in New York.

“This is a moment of truth with the occupying Power. We are at a crossroads. We have had enough. This situation cannot continue and our people cannot endure it any longer,” the President told the UNGA.

Abbas asserted that they are ready to work throughout this year on the delineation of borders and solving all final status issues under the auspices of the international Quartet and in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

"If this is not achieved, why maintain recognition of Israel based on the 1967 borders? Why maintain this recognition?," he continued.

In the same vein, the President affirmed that the Palestinians “will go to the International Court of Justice as the supreme international judicial body, on the issue of the legality of the occupation of the land of the Palestinian state.”

“We have extended our hands time and time again for peace and still we cannot find a partner in Israel that believes in and accepts the two-State solution,” added the President.

Moreover, he warned the global community that “undermining the two-State solution based on international law and UN resolutions will open the way for other alternatives imposed on us by the situation on the ground as a result of the continuation of the Israeli occupation of our State.”