Abbas seeks to free Palestinian economy from Israel
Palestinians are determined to revisit the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations, which they have said deepens their subordination to Israel.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel has tentatively agreed with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to revisit the Protocol on Economic Relations they signed in Paris in April 1994.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas revealed the news Jan. 27 at the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in Ramallah, the West Bank. “We tell the Israelis that multiple agreements were signed between us, starting with the 1993 Oslo Accord, to date, and it is up to [Israel] for these relations to continue based on just and legal foundations — or else we will relinquish them, starting with the Paris Protocol," he said. "They gave preliminary consent for us to sit and discuss it, after [they had] initially refused to add any amendments."
The Times of Israel reported Jan. 28 that spokespeople for the Israeli prime minister and Foreign Ministry refused to comment on Abbas' remarks.
The PA in December had formally requested that Israel revisit the protocol, and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Dec. 8 that French authorities agreed to participate.
