Fatah official: Oslo dead after UN vote; Jordanian option open

Al Quds al Arabi has an interview with Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, which sheds some light on how some Palestinian Arab leaders are thinking.

Zaki said that as soon as "Palestine" is accepted as a non-member state in the UN, then Oslo is officially dead, presumably because Oslo was an accord between Israel and the PLO, and the PLO would be superseded by "Palestine."

Zaki calls for a Palestinian Arab conference to be held after the UN vote to determine next steps. He doesn't  address whether Hamas would have a place at such a conference.

Like other PalArab leaders, he is making the false assumption that the UNGA can assign borders to the non-member state of "Palestine," which it cannot legally do.

Zaki also discussed the idea of "Palestine" federating with Jordan, which PLO official Farouk Kaddumi recently suggested. Zaki said that this is of course a possible option - but now is not the time to talk about it. Apparently, the PLO knows quite well that independence was never its goal - destroying Israel has been, and the entire facade of a "two-state solution" is simply another stage in that goal. But if the PalArab leaders publicly acknowledge that they really are indistinguishable from Jordan, the UN member states might wonder why they really want their own state.

The priority now, Zaki stressed, is to gain recognition by the UN so that "Palestine" can then prosecute Israel in the International Criminal Court and other venues.

It us clear that independence has never been the priority for the PLO to help their people - it is simply a tactic in the larger Arab effort to destroy Israel. Once it is achieved, then the existence of "Palestine" is unnecessary, and all the talk about a distinct "Palestinian people" and "Palestinian culture" will be forgotten in short order.