Recently, a document drafted by the European Commission in eastern Jerusalem proposed helping the Palestinian Authority secretly take control of land in Area C — which is supposed to be under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords.
Last February, Alan Baker, a former legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, wrote that an EU directive to mobilize and activate “national and international stakeholders through ad-hoc influencing actions on land rights to challenge the Israeli planning and permit regime in Area C” was deliberately encouraging the Palestinians to defy and undermine Israel’s authority there, which runs counter to the Oslo Accords.
“The EU cannot maintain the status of ‘witness’ to the Oslo Accords while at the same time systematically undermining those Accords and encouraging the Palestinians to violate them.” — Amb. Alan Baker
It is time for Israel to terminate the Oslo Accords. Contract law permits a party to an agreement or contract to terminate the same unilaterally if the other side has fundamentally breached it..
On May 19/20, President Mahmoud Abbas declared (Ramallah Declaration) an end to the agreements and understandings.
"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones." — Mahmoud Abbas
Once terminated, it can not unilaterally be restored by the PA.
The Israeli government is sure to extend sovereignty over some of Area C. An uproar is sure to follow.
Israel, on the other hand, could terminate the Accords if they still exist, for any of the following fundamental breaches:
- The Ramallah Declaration,
- The PA has continually defaulted in its obligation to prevent hostile acts: “Both sides shall take all measures necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism, crime and hostilities directed against each other, against individuals falling under the other’s authority and against their property, and shall take legal measures against offenders”. (Article XV)
- A condition precedent to Israel's signing of the Oslo Accords was the commitment set out in a 1993 letter from Chairman Arafat to Prime Minister Rabin: "The signing of the Declaration of Principles marks a new era ... I would like to confirm the following PLO commitments: The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security. The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The PLO commits itself ...t o a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations ... the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators...the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant." Virtually everything in this letter has been violated.
- The U.S. and the USSR both signed the agreement signifying their support, but the U.S. has done its utmost to force the Two State Solution on Israel which flies in the face of the fundamental principle of the Accords, namely, that the parties themselves are to freely negotiate a final settlement in accordance with Res 242 and Res 338.
The Brookings Institute once contemplated the costs of termination:
"Cancelling the Oslo Accords would effectively remove the legal justification for the PA. Quite simply, it would mean dismantling the PA, laying off its employees, ending international funding, and nullifying the economic agreements between the PA and Israel as well as between the PA and many other countries around the world. It would also mean an end to security coordination between Israel and the PA, which would facilitate the return of the Israeli military to parts of the West Bank designated as Area “A.” This would certainly lead to another intifada. Such an uprising would, in all likelihood, turn violent, given the enormous amount of weapons currently held by PA police and security personnel; and there would be no guarantee that these weapons would be kept out of the hands of the militant groups in the West Bank."
Yes it could but wouldn’t necessarily result in all the things enumerated. The Palestinians and Israel could re-negotiate an arrangement that suited them both. This is what the Jordan Option envisages.
It is high time for Israel to abrogate the Accords and deal with the violence which ensues.
Ted Belman is the founder and publisher of Israpundit.org. Read Belman's Reports — More Here.