Mahmoud Abbas, has “revealed his true beliefs” according to Prime Minister Netanyahu, after the Palestinian leader gave a shocking two-hour speech in which he denied any Jewish connection to Israel, ripped into Britain, made appalling anti-Semitic smears and even cursed President Trump.
The BBC, however, ignored the unacceptable lies within the speech, choosing instead to touch lightly on the Palestinian leader’s quote that Trump’s plan was a ‘slap of the century’.
The extent of what Abbas said, however, is extremely important. Western leaders have constantly portrayed Abbas as the “moderate” partner for peace, not willing to accept that behind the mask is an anti-Semitic fanatic – saying one thing to the West whilst continuing to incite hatred towards Israel.
But in Sunday’s speech Abbas, “tore off the mask”, as Netanyahu has described. The reason is that the emergence of the new US Administration’s policy towards Israel is slowly unravelling the true nature of the Palestinian leadership.
President Trump is Mahmoud Abbas’s worst nightmare. From threatening to cut payments for Palestinian terrorists, to withdrawing from UNESCO, to the possible funding cut for UNWRA and, of course, the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. But it is the latter, which has ultimately struck the biggest nerve with Abbas. This is because, fundamentally, the conflict is about recognition of the Jewish State. This was demonstrated yesterday when the Palestinian Central Council, chaired by Abbas, called for the PLO to suspend its recognition of Israel.
“He has torn off the mask and shown to the public the simple truth that I have been working to instill for many long years,” said Netanyahu, “The root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their steadfast refusal to recognise the Jewish state in any borders whatsoever.”
So what did Abbas actually say?
He called Israel a “colonial enterprise” conspiracy:
“This is a colonial enterprise that has nothing to do with Jewishness. The Jews were used as a tool under the concept of the promised land — call it whatever you want. Everything has been made up.”
Attacking Trump’s Jerusalem decision, he used the phrase Yekhreb beitak, which means “May God demolish your house”. The phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but is often regarded as cursing.
He will continue to support payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families:
“Prisoners and their family members are our sons, and we will continue to give them stipends.”
Another lie:
“Israel has imported frightening amounts of drugs in order to destroy our younger generation.”
He refused to let go of his upset with Britain:
“we continue to demand an apology from the British for the Balfour Declaration, and we will continue to demand their recognition of a Palestinian state.
He lashed out at the US, Israel, Britain and even other Arab leaders, whom he told to “go to hell” for criticising him. He pronounced the peace process dead, and accused Israel of killing it.
He fabricated a complete lie about Theodor Herzl:
“Herzl’s phrase ‘a land without a people for a people without a land’ was made up. He arrived here and saw a people, and for that reason, spoke of the need to get rid of the Palestinians.”
About Ambassador Friedman and Ambassador Haley:
“U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is a settler who is opposed to the term occupation. He is an offensive human being, and I will not agree to meet with him anywhere. They requested that I meet him and I refused, not in Jerusalem, not in Amman, not in Washington. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley too, she threatens to hit people who hurt Israel with the heel of her shoe, and we’ll respond in the same way.”
Meanwhile PM Netanyahu said, “I think Abbas is doing what he’s doing because he apparently fears a US-led peace initiative. He’s trying to remove the Americans from their capacity as mediators and replace them with someone else.
“For too long, the Palestinian Authority has been coddled by the international community, which dared not to speak truth to them—not on Jerusalem, not on recognizing Israel and regarding other measures and demands made by them. They have always gotten a soft touch, and now that’s changed. It’s the first time somebody told the truth to their faces,” Netanyahu stated.
Abbas, now 82, may be realising that with America’s new Middle East policy, the game is up. But is his bitter rhetoric a sign that he has given up, or does this signal a change in strategy to garner wider Arab support with nothing to lose?
For the UK , however, it remains to be seen which side of Abbas it chooses to see. The Abbas with the mask, whose administration Britain seems content in supporting, or Abbas without the mask which presents Britain with the dilemma of denouncing its openly anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying peace partner.
Christians United for Israel UK
PM Netanyahu: Abbas has "torn off the mask"
WATCH: PM Netanyahu has responded to comments made by the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) in which the Palestinian leader called Israel a European 'colonial' project.
Posted by Christians United for Israel – UK on Monday, 15 January 2018