The ZOA has strongly condemned Palestinian Authority (PA) chief Mahmoud Abbas’ blatant refusal to disarm Palestinian terrorists, to which he agreed under the Roadmap. In addition, the Quartet — the U.S., E.U, U.N. and Russia — explicitly called upon him to do so this week. Then the Quartet issued a statement which included the following: “the Quartet … urges the Palestinian Authority to maintain law and order and dismantle terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.”
Yet, according to reports today, Mahmoud Abbas simply brushed aside this call to advance the Roadmap peace plan by dismantling the terrorist infrastructures within the PA, saying “With regard to the issue of the armed Palestinian groups and our dealings with them, this is an internal affair … We know more and are more capable than others of dealing with our brothers” (Jerusalem Post, September 22).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We are witnessing yet again an absurd and tragic situation in which the Palestinian leadership promptly and blatantly refuses to fulfill its obligations under signed agreements and the Roadmap.
“For twelve years, the Palestinians have really had only three major commitments to honor — to dismantle the terrorist organizations in their midst, to arrest and imprison terrorists and to end incitement to hatred and murder against Jews and Israel in their textbooks, media, sermons and speeches; none of which they have done or show the slightest inclination to do.
“On the contrary, terrorist groups thrive under Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian terrorism reached an 18-month high in July and the PA has tried to coax Hamas, which calls for Israel’s destruction and the murder of all Jews, into joining its government.
“It is amazing that Mahmoud Abbas, a man many still cling to as a moderate opposed to violence, is willing and able to refuse to fulfill his fundamental obligation to dismantle terrorist organizations. This is the time for the Quartet and the United States especially, having had their call for an end to the terrorist groups thrown back in their faces, to condemn Abbas’ response and impose serious consequences upon him for non-fulfillment.
“In particular, the munificent amounts of aid that the international community is giving to the PA should be frozen until Abbas delivers on his obligations. Moreover, the United States should not stand by idly if Abbas continues in his defiance but instead should, in addition to freezing all aid to the PA, end diplomatic ties with Mahmoud Abbas. Doing anything less will make us complicit in Abbas’s failure and bad faith in fulfilling his part in moving toward peace.”