When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened earlier this week to “drop a bomb” on Israel during his upcoming speech at the United Nations, nobody thought he would stoop as low as he did with his hate-filled rhetoric against the Jewish State.
Abbas knows full well that Israel, like the Palestinians, has nothing to lose and everything to gain from a comprehensive and lasting peace after many decades of bitter conflict. However, he chose not to speak of peace and hope, sentiments most welcomed at the United Nations, but rather to accuse Israel of “war crimes,” among other false allegations.
BBC News reported that in his speech, which you can see and hear in full in the video below , Abbas accused Israel of many things, saying the recent conflict with Hamas in Gaza was “a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world, moment by moment.”
Abbas decided, for his own reasons and to promote his own agenda, to ignore the steps Israel took to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties, despite the thousands of rockets fired on the Jewish State, which are unprecedented by any standards of modern warfare.
Following the speech by Mahmoud Abbas, the U.S. State Department’s Jen Psaki spoke to reporters, laying out the Obama administration’s position on his comments and condemning them.
“President Abbas’ speech today included offensive characterizations that were deeply disappointing and which we reject. Such provocative statements are counterproductive and undermine efforts to create a positive atmosphere and restore trust between the parties.”
For their part, senior officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denounced the allegations as “a speech of incitement filled with lies.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also commented on the Abbas speech.
“Abu Mazen’s (Abbas’) words at the UN General Assembly sharply clarify again that Abu Mazen doesn’t want and can’t be a logical partner for a political settlement. Abbas isn’t a member of joint government with Hamas for no reason. Abbas complements Hamas in his political terrorism and storytelling against Israel. So long as he’s chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas will lead to the continuation of the conflict. He has proved time and again that he is not a man of peace, but rather Arafat’s heir.”
In other comments during his nearly 30-minute address, Abbas made his position on peace with Israel very clear, saying, “We will not forget and we will not forgive, and we will not allow war criminals to escape punishment.”
It remains to be seen what the backlash towards the speech will be when the Palestinian Authority President returns to the areas under his jurisdiction..
Sadly, the only message he can give his people is that, once again, in historical Palestinian fashion, he didn’t miss the opportunity to miss yet another opportunity to derail any chance of peace with the Palestinians any time soon.