Last week, Mahmoud Abbas gained the approval of the Arab League for his plan to declare a Palestinian state unilaterally. Initial measures involve obtaining recognition from international bodies, with Jordan reportedly agreeing to submit a resolution to the UN Security Council. No less intrinsic to Abbas’s plan, Jonathan D. Halevi explains, is ongoing terrorism:
[T]he Palestinian Authority is determined, even at the price of a run-in with the United States and Israel, to advance a unilateral political process that is aimed against Israel and has the full support of the Arab League. The rioting and terror in Jerusalem and the West Bank, which are being encouraged by the Palestinian Authority, serve this political process as a form of pressure on Israel and also are aimed at spurring the international community’s intervention. Not only has Abbas not condemned the wave of Palestinian anti-Israeli terror but, in traditional fashion, his speeches have reiterated the formula of “praise to the pure martyrs, freedom to the heroic prisoners, and rapid recovery to the heroic wounded.” What this adds up to is backing for every Palestinian who takes part in the struggle against Israel, including terrorist murderers.
Read more on Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: http://jcpa.org/article/palestinian-authority-unilateral-process-against-israel