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Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (HaTnua) spoke out strongly against the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Wednesday evening, after PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas applied to the UN and other international organizations for legitimacy.
"The PA has breached its obligations [in peace talks] by applying to the UN," Livni stated. "If they want a state they need to understand that it will only be established on the negotiating table [with Israel]."
Calling recent events "complicated," Livni said that her team "will continue representing the interests of the State of Israel" despite the move, and urged the government to return to talks.
"Not the Palestinians, nor anyone else can dictate to us whether or not we are fighting for peace," she continued. "Even when peace seems very far away, and when the other side's conduct is wrong [. . .] we will return to the negotiating table, we are obligated to return to talks."
Ongoing controversy over the failing peace talks stems around the fourth batch of terrorist releases, as MKs point out that the previous releases have done nothing to further talks, and that several of the released terrorists have contributed to the increase in terror attacks over the past year.
PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat stated last month that Abbas was staying in talks solely for the sake of the terrorist releases, prompting Israeli officials to reconsider completing the deal - which has always been contingent on real progress in the talks.
In response, Israel told PA officials over the weekend that the deal was postponed, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the release would "topple the government" due to public and political backlash, particularly since the Jewish Home party said it would bolt the coalition if more terrorists were released.
The PA responded by breaking the terms of preconditions for talks by applying for official recognition from fifteen different international organizations.