Mahmoud Abbas Tells UN He Will No Longer Observe Oslo Accords

UNITED NATIONS -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday declared that he will no longer be bound by the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, citing Israel's failure to uphold its obligations under the peace agreement.

"Our patience for a long time has come to an end," Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly. "Israel has left us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of those agreements while Israel continuously violates them." 

Abbas wrote in a blog post for The Huffington Post on Tuesday that he had held "high hopes" after the signing of the Oslo Accords, which facilitated Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation and laid out a road map for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by 1998. 

Far from withdrawing, however, Israel has exponentially expanded settlements in Area C, the portion of the West Bank controlled by the Israeli government. At the U.N. on Wednesday, Abbas slammed the settlements as a key obstacle to peace.

"Is it not time to end the racist, terrorist, colonialist settlement of our land, which is enjoying the two-state solution?" he asked. "Is it not time for the longest occupation in history, suffocating our people, to come to an end?" 

The implications of Abbas’ announcement are not yet clear. In a sense, the Oslo Accords have been lapsed since the Israeli government's failure to withdraw its citizens by 1998, and both parties have recognized there will ultimately need to be a new agreement to achieve a two-state solution.

The news likely represents a desperate attempt by the aging leader to force action on an increasingly intractable conflict. “Basically, this was an ultimatum [to Israel], said Grant Rumley, a research analyst who focuses on Palestinian affairs at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “Honor your agreements and change the status quo, or we’ll consider more drastic steps.”

In his remarks on Wednesday, Abbas called on the Israeli government to “assume full responsibility as an occupying power,” suggesting he is considering halting security cooperation with the Israelis and potentially disbanding the Palestinian Authority.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.