Abbas seeking global protection

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told world leaders Wednesday that he is no longer bound by agreements that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

But what sounded like a potentially explosive declaration was blunted by the lack of any detail on how he plans to move forward.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Abbas said Israel had repeatedly violated its commitments, most notably by expanding settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, on lands the Palestinians seek for a future state.

Abbas’ speech reflected growing Palestinian frustration and appeared aimed at focusing the attention of the international community – busy with the Syrian civil war and the migrants’ crisis in Europe – on the long-festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Also, Abbas raised the Palestinian flag at the UN for the first time Wednesday with a promise that it will be raised soon in Jerusalem, “the capital of our Palestinian state.”