Mahmoud Abbas drops wet firecracker, not bombshell, at UN

Ali Abunimah From the Editors 1 October 2015

On Wednesday, Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly that his Palestinian Authority would no longer be bound by the 1993 Oslo accords with Israel.

Despite headlines trailing it as a “bombshell,” Abbas’ speech was more of a wet firecracker, as I told The Real News today.

The PA leader failed to announce any concrete measures and only threatened unspecificied future actions.

Had he been serious, I argued, he would have demanded at least an arms embargo and other sanctions on Israel.

Watch the video above.

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Comments

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Samira Ahmad replied on

The best description of the Abbas's speech I've heard. thank you Mr. Abunimah!

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Michael Levin replied on

Tried to watch the video . . . "This video contains content from Reshet-Noga Ltd, who has blocked it on copyright grounds"

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tom hall replied on

The video played for me. But what was an Israeli media company doing shutting down access? I hope inquiries are being made. The interview itself is a model of concise analysis, and a reminder of why the Electronic Intifada has emerged as a leading news site.

As for Abbas, he isn't even worth the effort it takes to ignore him.

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Rob replied on

You can see Abbas make his comments on Democracy Now! news hour today.

I agree with Ali. Abbas has been a collaborator with Israel for years. His talk was welcomed but stopped short of anything concrete.

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.