(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Alan Baker - On Dec. 21, 2015, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared his intention to issue new passports in the name of the "State of Palestine" within the coming year. This would be a clear violation of the Oslo Accords. These accords, representing a series of reciprocal Palestinian and Israeli commitments made between 1993 and 1999, grant the PA the right to issue "Passports/Travel Documents" in accordance with very clear terms. Paragraph 27(f) of the Protocol Concerning Civil Affairs, Article II, of the "Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area" of May 4, 1994, Annex II, states: "Exit abroad through the passages or through Israeli points of exit by residents of the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area shall only be possible by means of an agreed passport/travel document." Thus, the issuance of independent passports is in clear and blatant violation of the accords. Passports purporting to be in the name of a non-existent "State of Palestine" will have no validity and should not be accepted by Israel or by those states and organizations advocating the resumption of negotiations within the framework of the Oslo peace process. Amb. Alan Baker, former legal advisor of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians.
2015-12-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive