In a September 1, 2025 interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia), Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected claims that the Palestinians made any concessions in the Oslo Accords. He said that, on the contrary, the Oslo Accords achieved the return of 1,850,000 Palestinians to their homeland. Abbas added that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which deemed Israeli settlements illegal, was a parting gift from President Obama and his administration. He said that then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice was behind the resolution, and that it was coordinated between the Palestinians, the United States, and Britain. Abbas stated that the resolution passed unanimously, except for an American abstention.
“Some People Say That We Made Concessions In The Oslo Accords… I Challenge Anyone To Show Me A Single Concession… On The Other Hand, What We Achieved Is That We Returned To Our Homeland”
Mahmoud Abbas: “Some people say that we made concessions in the Oslo Accords. I would hear this even in our internal official meetings, in the National Council, the Central Council, and elsewhere. I challenge anyone to show me a single concession.
“On the other hand, what we achieved is that we returned to our homeland. You’d be surprised to hear how many people returned to the homeland with their families. Since the Oslo Accords [were signed] and to this day – or at least until a few months back, when they stopped it – 1,850,000 people returned to the homeland.”
Interviewer: “Excellent.”
[…]
Abbas: “I read a small report in Haaretz. It said that 50% of Israelis had come from Arab countries. What?! 50% of Israelis came from Arab countries? Is this conceivable? I took note of this report and started following the centers that deal with Israeli affairs. We have some of those. I found out that 70% of Israeli Jews had come from Arab countries. This shocked and irritated me.
[…]
“I discovered that most of them were forced to immigrate to Israel.”
Interviewer: “They were driven out from their countries.”
Abbas: “Let’s call it forced to immigrate…”
Interviewer: “You are being very gentle…”
[…]
UN Resolution 2334 [That Deems Israeli Settlements To Be Illegal] Was Made In Obama’s Final Days As President; “The Americans Felt Pangs Of Conscience”
Abbas: “Every Arab should read UN Resolution 2334 [that deems Israeli settlements to be illegal]. It is a Security Council resolution. In Obama’s final days, when he was about to be replaced by Trump, the Americans felt pangs of conscience or whatever. They said: ‘We have never really given anything to Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas]. Let’s do something for him. We are leaving anyway.’ There was a woman called Susan Rice there.”
Abbas: “She came up with this idea, and then they called us and said: ‘We want to do something for you.’ We negotiated this resolution with the British, who were talking to us on behalf of the Security Council.
“Within 3-4 weeks – everything over the phone – we managed to pass this resolution. I call this resolution ‘the Palestinian resolution.’ When it was time to vote, everybody voted in favor of it, and only the U.S. abstained, and the resolution was passed.”