JERUSALEM (JTA) — A document being circulated by Israel’s Foreign Ministry instructs its envoys to warn their host governments that the Oslo Accords could be canceled over the Palestinian Authority’s attempt to upgrade its status at the United Nations.
The document, which says the possible upgrade to non-member state "would be considered a crossing of a red line," reportedly also calls for "toppling" the regime of PA President Mahmoud Abbas if the proposal is approved, the French news agency AFP reported.
Abbas has said he will go to the U.N. General Assembly this month to ask that the Palestinians be upgraded to non-member state status.
The document also recommends offering the Palestinians immediate recognition of statehood along provisional borders for a transition period, according to Haaretz.
"In the event that the Palestinians give up going to the UN, Israel must reach an agreement with the Palestinian Authority for a Palestinian state along provisional borders, during a transition period — until the stabilization of the Arab world, new elections in the Palestinian Authority, and a clarification of the relations between the West Bank and Gaza," the document obtained by Haaretz reads.
The Palestinians currently are considered an observer "entity" at the United Nations. Acceptance of the Palestinians as a non-member state, similar to the Vatican’s U.N. status, could grant the Palestinians access to bodies such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they could file complaints against Israel.
The status upgrade seems certain to win approval in any vote in the General Assembly, which is composed mostly of post-colonial states historically sympathetic to the Palestinians. Palestinian diplomats also are courting European countries to further burnish their case.
The Palestinian Authority last year sought full U.N. membership. The bid failed because of U.S. opposition in the U.N. Security Council.
"Observer status" does not need approval of the Security Council, where the United States wields a veto.
