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Despite reconciliation, Abbas in no position to negotiate for Hamas

With Israel ignoring his efforts and Hamas trying to topple him, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may issue a desperate ultimatum for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank.
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“I am talking about a non-traditional solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an interview on the Egyptian Sada El Balad TV network Aug. 22. Abbas was referring to the plan he might present to US Secretary of State John Kerry this week. Simultaneously, sources in the Palestinian Authority leaked to The Associated Press that Abbas will soon turn to the UN Security Council to ask it to set a target date for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank territories. If his request is not approved, he will turn to the International Criminal Court in The Hague and file a complaint against Israel for war crimes.

This is not a diplomatic plan but an ultimatum for withdrawal.

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