Out of a deep sense of frustration at Israel's refusal to halt settlement construction in the occupied territories, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that he might consider dissolving the Palestinian Authority. "I cannot accept remaining as the head of an authority that does not exist," Abbas said in a TV interview. The formation of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 after a truce with Israel gave the Palestinians limited autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This temporary step should have been accompanied by an agreement on other issues, such as the refugees' right of return, the status of Jerusalem and the creation of a Palestinian state according to the pre-1967 borders. Successive Israeli governments have procrastinated on the issue of peace and suspending the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This suggests that the Palestinians have no choice other than to withdraw from the entire political process and resort to the resistance of prior to the 1993 Oslo deals. Abbas also seems to be giving the international community, especially the US, another option: announcing the independent state of Palestine and having it recognised internationally. Could the US, that refrains from pressurising Israel to temporarily freeze settlement construction for just 90 days in return for a very generous arms deal, agree to recognise the Palestinian state? Such a step would come as a real challenge to Tel Aviv, resulting in a state of de facto that the international community has never imposed on the Jewish state, the apple of Washington's eye. Apparently, Abbas is fully aware of this and America's unwillingness to support a unilateral Palestinian procedure, even if it agrees to its old promise of allowing the creation of an independent Palestinian state, living side by side with Israel. Abbas' threat will probably not be taken seriously by the Americans or Israelis, as it's similar to his previous threaten to resign by not running for election.
