Palestine: statehood supersedes Oslo Accords and Roadmap

Two pertinent comments on this statement are warranted.

First -as stated above - the two-state solution has already been achieved. That debate has to all intents and purposes been ended - unless the UNESCO decision is reversed by the International Court of Justice as being unconstitutional. Any move by UNESCO to refer the decision to the Court for its advisory opinion appears extremely unlikely.

Second - the arrogant presumption that 100% of the West Bank and Gaza is the territory of the Palestinian State - and that Israel has no claim to any part of that territory - continues to plague any efforts to finally resolve sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza - just 5% of former Palestine still remaining unallocated between Arabs and Jews.

The Jewish claim to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in the West Bank and Gaza has been specifically preserved in international law by the provisions of the Treaty of Sevres, the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the United Nations Charter - all of which have been declared null and void by Article 20 of the Charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) - now headed by Mr Abbas.

Until the PLO accepts the binding effect of this body of international law - the ongoing conflict in the West Bank and Gaza is set to continue.

Now that a Palestinian state has been recognized - any restraints on Israel changing the status of the West Bank under the Oslo Accords and the Bush Roadmap have been removed.

Mr Abbas needs to change his tune or see Israel follow his example by making unilateral changes in the status of at least those areas of the West Bank where Israel currently holds full security and administrative control.

Mr Abbas continues to make the following assertion - as if repeating it often enough will turn it into fact:

We agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22% of the territory of historical Palestine-on all the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel in 1967.