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| Abbas Renews Threat to Dissolve Palestinian Authority if Peace Talks Fail | Abbas Renews Threat to Dissolve Palestinian Authority if Peace Talks Fail |
| (4 months later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, issued a renewed warning on Tuesday that if the American-sponsored Middle East peace talks fail, he may dissolve the authority and hand sole responsibility for the West Bank back to Israel. | |
| In televised remarks to Israeli journalists at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mr. Abbas said that Israel had, in any case, deprived the authority of any real power to govern the territory. | In televised remarks to Israeli journalists at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mr. Abbas said that Israel had, in any case, deprived the authority of any real power to govern the territory. |
| “If the negotiations fail finally, then we will say to the Israeli government, ‘Here is the authority, you have emptied it of all content, take it,’ ” Mr. Abbas said. In that case, he continued, Israel would become responsible for security and for the health, education and economic well-being of the Palestinians who live in the West Bank. | “If the negotiations fail finally, then we will say to the Israeli government, ‘Here is the authority, you have emptied it of all content, take it,’ ” Mr. Abbas said. In that case, he continued, Israel would become responsible for security and for the health, education and economic well-being of the Palestinians who live in the West Bank. |
| His remarks come a week before the talks are scheduled to end, on April 29. | His remarks come a week before the talks are scheduled to end, on April 29. |
| The threat to dissolve the authority was seen by Israeli and Palestinian experts alike as brinkmanship on Mr. Abbas’s part, reflecting both how wide the gulf remains between the Palestinians’ and Israelis’ positions in the negotiations and the difficulty of the last-ditch effort to extend them beyond April 29. | The threat to dissolve the authority was seen by Israeli and Palestinian experts alike as brinkmanship on Mr. Abbas’s part, reflecting both how wide the gulf remains between the Palestinians’ and Israelis’ positions in the negotiations and the difficulty of the last-ditch effort to extend them beyond April 29. |
| The peace talks, which began last summer, have been on the verge of collapse since late March, when Israel missed a deadline for releasing a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian side responded by applying to join 15 international treaties and conventions in defiance of Israel. | The peace talks, which began last summer, have been on the verge of collapse since late March, when Israel missed a deadline for releasing a fourth group of Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian side responded by applying to join 15 international treaties and conventions in defiance of Israel. |
| Mr. Abbas has said he is willing to extend the negotiations if Israel releases the prisoners, agrees to spend the next three months focusing on drawing the new boundaries between Israel and the future Palestinian state, and freezes all settlement construction outside its 1967 boundaries in the meantime. | Mr. Abbas has said he is willing to extend the negotiations if Israel releases the prisoners, agrees to spend the next three months focusing on drawing the new boundaries between Israel and the future Palestinian state, and freezes all settlement construction outside its 1967 boundaries in the meantime. |
| “If Israel believes in the two-state solution, let us sit at the table and see where Israel is — in other words, let’s define the borders,” Mr. Abbas told the Israeli journalists. | “If Israel believes in the two-state solution, let us sit at the table and see where Israel is — in other words, let’s define the borders,” Mr. Abbas told the Israeli journalists. |
| Though there have been intensive bilateral and trilateral meetings among the Israeli, Palestinian and American teams, people familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday that the sides were far apart and that it was not clear whether a deal could be reached. | Though there have been intensive bilateral and trilateral meetings among the Israeli, Palestinian and American teams, people familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday that the sides were far apart and that it was not clear whether a deal could be reached. |
| For years, Israel has refused to discuss the new borders in isolation from other issues, as the Palestinians want. | For years, Israel has refused to discuss the new borders in isolation from other issues, as the Palestinians want. |
| “To look at borders in an atomized way is simply not serious,” said a senior Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the two sides pledged to keep the content of the talks confidential. “What will be on the other side — a demilitarized Palestinian state? One that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state? One that agrees to the end of conflict?” | “To look at borders in an atomized way is simply not serious,” said a senior Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the two sides pledged to keep the content of the talks confidential. “What will be on the other side — a demilitarized Palestinian state? One that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state? One that agrees to the end of conflict?” |
| Signaling growing frustration over the impasse, Palestinian negotiators have in recent days raised the prospect of disbanding the Palestinian Authority, which practices limited self-rule in the West Bank. Israeli lawmakers who met with Mr. Abbas in Ramallah last week said he repeatedly spoke of “handing back the keys” to Israel. | Signaling growing frustration over the impasse, Palestinian negotiators have in recent days raised the prospect of disbanding the Palestinian Authority, which practices limited self-rule in the West Bank. Israeli lawmakers who met with Mr. Abbas in Ramallah last week said he repeatedly spoke of “handing back the keys” to Israel. |
| “It is not the first time we have heard these threats, but they are more serious than in the past,” said another Israeli who is familiar with the negotiations. “Abbas has not made a decision, but he is closer than before.” | “It is not the first time we have heard these threats, but they are more serious than in the past,” said another Israeli who is familiar with the negotiations. “Abbas has not made a decision, but he is closer than before.” |
| The idea of dissolving the authority is not popular in senior Palestinian circles, and several Palestinian officials denied this week that it was even on the table. | The idea of dissolving the authority is not popular in senior Palestinian circles, and several Palestinian officials denied this week that it was even on the table. |
| Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian political analyst and public opinion expert in Ramallah, said the threats were “more a call for help out of desperation.” “The Israelis do not show signs that they are sympathetic to Abbas’s plight,” he added. | Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian political analyst and public opinion expert in Ramallah, said the threats were “more a call for help out of desperation.” “The Israelis do not show signs that they are sympathetic to Abbas’s plight,” he added. |
| Mr. Shikaki’s organization, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, recently published a report on the likelihood and consequences of an end to the authority. | Mr. Shikaki’s organization, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, recently published a report on the likelihood and consequences of an end to the authority. |
| “Most Palestinians think it is a stupid idea,” Mr. Shikaki said. | “Most Palestinians think it is a stupid idea,” Mr. Shikaki said. |
| To illustrate that the Palestinian leadership has other options, representatives of Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party traveled to Gaza on Tuesday for a new round of reconciliation talks with Fatah’s main rival, Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls that territory. Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of the Fatah delegation, said that the discussions would focus on forming a unity government of technocrats and setting a date for elections. Israeli and Palestinian analysts said they did not expect a breakthrough in those talks. | To illustrate that the Palestinian leadership has other options, representatives of Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party traveled to Gaza on Tuesday for a new round of reconciliation talks with Fatah’s main rival, Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls that territory. Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of the Fatah delegation, said that the discussions would focus on forming a unity government of technocrats and setting a date for elections. Israeli and Palestinian analysts said they did not expect a breakthrough in those talks. |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has spoken dismissively about the threat. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has spoken dismissively about the threat. |
| “Today we see the Palestinian Authority, which yesterday spoke about disbanding, talking with Hamas about unity,” he said Monday night. “They should decide whether they want to disband or have unity, and when they want peace, they should let us know, because we want a genuine peace.” | “Today we see the Palestinian Authority, which yesterday spoke about disbanding, talking with Hamas about unity,” he said Monday night. “They should decide whether they want to disband or have unity, and when they want peace, they should let us know, because we want a genuine peace.” |
| Some experts say Mr. Abbas may be considering the idea of dissolving the authority more seriously now because he is 79, has no obvious successor and is thinking about his legacy. | Some experts say Mr. Abbas may be considering the idea of dissolving the authority more seriously now because he is 79, has no obvious successor and is thinking about his legacy. |
| But many remain skeptical. “It makes no sense,” said Ghassan Khatib, vice president of Birzeit University in the West Bank and a former spokesman for the Palestinian Authority government. “It is Abbas’s way of saying things are intolerable and cannot go on without change.” | But many remain skeptical. “It makes no sense,” said Ghassan Khatib, vice president of Birzeit University in the West Bank and a former spokesman for the Palestinian Authority government. “It is Abbas’s way of saying things are intolerable and cannot go on without change.” |