By Ali Sawafta and Rami Ayyub

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Friday of destroying the two-state solution with actions he said could lead Palestinians to demand equal rights within one binational state comprising Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Abbas (85), addressed the U.N. General Assembly via videolink from the West Bank. He urged the international community for help to save the two state formula, which has for many decades been the foundation of diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Abbas claimed that Israel was “destroying the possibility of a political solution based on the Two-State Solution” by its settlements on West Bank land it seized in the 1967 Middle East War.

The settlements are considered illegal by most countries, which Israel denies.

Abbas stated that if the Israeli occupation authorities keep enforcing the reality of an apartheid country as it is today, the Palestinian people and all the world will not accept such a situation. Israel refutes the accusations of apartheid.

“Circumstances will invariably impose equal political rights on the land and historical Palestine for all within one state. Abbas stated from Ramallah that Israel must choose in all circumstances. He spoke this statement while speaking from Ramallah where he is the head of the Palestinian Authority. This Authority has limited autonomy over the West Bank.

Abbas’ comments were not immediately commented on by Israel.

Critics claim that internal Palestinian divisions contributed to the impasse in U.S.-sponsored ceasefire talks. These negotiations collapsed in 2014.

Abbas’ PA, according to interim peace agreements with Israel was supposed to also have control over Gaza. His Islamist rivals Hamas captured the coastal enclave in 2007. Years of negotiations haven’t been able to end their impasse.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a right-leaning politician who leads a multi-partisan coalition against Palestinian statehood, is the prime minister. His government has pledged not to make sensitive decisions towards Palestinians, but will instead concentrate on economic matters.

Abbas made threats to the U.N. that the Palestinians would renounce their Israeli recognition if they don’t leave Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem by the end of the year.

Why continue the recognition of Israel on 1967 borders if this isn’t achieved? This recognition is unnecessary. Abbas stated.

Although some Israelis and Palestinians are supportive of the concept of one binational state (or a single entity), most people have different views about how that entity should look and be managed.

For religious, political, and demographic reasons, most analysts think a single country is unsustainable. Israeli governments view a single-state idea as subverting the spirit of an independent Jewish nation.

U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support of the two-state option during Tuesday’s U.N. speech, saying that it would secure “Israeli future as a Jewish democratic state, living in peace, alongside a viable, democratic Palestinian state”.