Xinhua
July 25, 2011 - 12:00am
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/25/c_131008357.htm


RAMALLAH, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Israel does not need to threaten by calling off the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993, because it does not implement it, a senior Palestinian official said on Monday.

"We would have gained our independence since 1993 if Israel implemented the Oslo accords," Saeb Erekat, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official told Xinhua.

"Israel's practices on the ground have practically canceled the Oslo agreement years ago," he added.

Erekat's comments came as a response to a report published by Ha'aretz daily in which it said that a team headed by Israeli National Security Adviser Ya'akov Amidror is looking into calling off the Oslo Accords in response to the Palestinian unilateral plan to gain U.N. recognition for an independent state in September.

According to the report, Israel's Prime Minister's Bureau confirmed on Sunday that the National Security was discussing many alternatives ahead of September.

But Erekat said that Israel's threats will not affect the Palestinian efforts to approach the United Nations in September for a state recognition.

The Oslo Accords were signed in Washington following secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO in the Norwegian city of Oslo.

Under the agreement, entitled the "Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements," the Palestinians are given a transitional period which should not exceed five years to establish an independent state.

The Palestinian leadership is determined to seek recognition of Palestinian statehood from the United Nations in September.




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