Palestinian leader Abbas: Palestine no longer bound by pact with Israel

In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of violating the 1995 Oslo Accords, and concluded that Palestine is therefore no longer bound by them. Palestine "cannot be the only party" to remain faithful to the agreement, which formed the basis of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Abbas said.

By moving away from the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority would transition toward independent statehood, or else be fully occupied by Israel. "While the Israeli government pays lip service to the two-state solution internationally, domestically it employs policies aimed at destroying what's left of Palestine," Abbas said.

Abbas' U.N. speech came on the first day the Palestinian flag was allowed to be flown outside U.N. headquarters. United Nations members have voted in overwhelming numbers since 2012 to give the Palestinian delegation nonmember observer state status, though the United States, Canada, and Israel have consistently voted against the measure.

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