Image by getty images

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ threat to dismantle the P.A. would affect assistance to the Palestinians from Washington, the State Department said.

“That type of extreme step would obviously have grave implications,” State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.

“A great deal of effort has gone into building Palestinian institutions by Palestinians as well as the international community, and it would certainly not be in the interests of the Palestinian people for all of that to be lost. We – the United States has put millions of dollars into this effort. It would obviously have very serious implications for our relationship, including our assistance going forward,” she said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The unilateral action would leave Israel with full responsibility for the Palestinians living in the West Bank and would annul the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the threat on Monday night at the end of the Passover holiday, saying that the Palestinian Authority should “let us know” if it is going to disband or if it is ready to make peace. He also addressed reconciliation meetings between Abbas’ Fatah Party and the terrorist organization Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

“Today we see the Palestinian Authority, which yesterday spoke about disbanding, talking with Hamas about unity.

They should decide whether they want to disband or have unity, and when they want peace, they should let us know because we want a genuine peace,” Netanyahu said.

Abbas threatened to disband the P.A. if there is no progress in U.S.-backed peace negotiations.

Unless Palestinian and Israeli negotiators agree to extend peace negotiations, the current round of talks is scheduled to end on April 29, likely without an agreement.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount