The Palestinian Authority on Monday strongly condemned Israeli “incitement” against PA President Mahmoud Abbas and warned against its negative impact on the peace talks.
The PA’s attack came in response to statements made by Avigdor Liberman, Chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who was quoted as saying that Abbas in not a peace partner.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat described Liberman’s statements as “dangerous incitement” against Abbas.
Erekat warned that Lieberman’s statements “reflected an Israeli desire to get rid of President Abbas.”
Erekat also condemned Israel’s “destructive policies, including continued settlement construction and creating facts on the ground.”
He said that Israel’s actions would lead to halting the peace talks.
Erekat denied reports that the peace talks have reached a dead end. He said that the reports, published in some Israeli media outlets, were “baseless.”
The PA Foreign Ministry also accused Israel of incitement against the Palestinians and condemned Liberman as a “gangster” and “fascist.”
The ministry claimed that Israeli incitement against Abbas and the Palestinians increased after the resumption of the peace talks.
The ministry called on the Israeli government to condemn Lieberman’s statements, which it said constitute “state terror.”
Also Monday, the PA’s official news agency Wafa published a report detailing Israeli “incitement” against Abbas and Palestinians.
The report referred to op-eds published in a number of Israeli media outlets by various writers criticizing Abbas. One article, published in the daily Israel Hayom, said that the return of Palestinian refugees would lead to the destruction of Israel.
An Israeli official said in response that the Palestinians had confused legitimate political criticism with incitement.
"It is clear that the Palestinians fail to understand what incitement is," the official said.
"Incitement is demonizing the other side. It is denying the legitimacy of the other side. Incitement is putting terrorists on up on pedestals and calling them heroes. It is dehumanizing the other sides. Incitement is calling to violence. Incitement is encouraging to hate. The PA does all these things. Criticizing this or that aspects of President Abbas' politics is legitimate political criticism and is not incitement," the official said.