Palestinians, Israelis harden positions ahead of UN summit
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to shift from his traditional pragmatism and present hard-line positions in his speech at the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intends to declare more hard-line Palestinian national positions on all permanent status issues at this month’s UN General Assembly meeting as well as at a meeting of the Arab League, Al-Monitor has learned from a senior PLO official. He will shift from more traditional pragmatic positions — such as those expressed by the Palestinians during the Oslo process, in talks with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and in talks last year with US Secretary of State John Kerry. These more nationalistic positions come in response to what Ramallah perceives as extreme right-wing Israeli policies and activities in the West Bank, especially regarding settlement expansion and economic annexation in Area C. Abbas is expected to characterize Israel's policies as “ethnic cleansing and war crimes.”
The official stated that PLO policy planners are currently drafting national Palestinian positions for a two-state solution that reflect the mainstream of Palestinian public opinion.
