In an address to the United Nations General Assembly before a ceremony for the raising of the Palestinian flag at U.N. headquarters in New York, Abbas said the Palestinian Authority no longer considered itself bound by the accords signed with Israel in the mid-1990s.

Reiterating what the Palestinian Authority has been saying for at least half a decade, Abbas said the agreements would not apply as long as Israel supports settlements of Israelis in the West Bank and refuses to release Palestinian prisoners.