"After a deceptive speech by the Iranian president and an inciting speech by Abu-Mazen (Abbas) I will tell the truth of the Israeli citizens to the whole world," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement ahead of his departure for New York on Sunday where he will address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
‘’In my speech in front of the UNGA and in all of my meetings, I will represent Israel's citizens, and repel, in their name, the lies and slander thrown at our country," he said.
On Friday, Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly and accused Israel of conducting a "war of genocide" during the 50-day summer conflict in Gaza, and added that he will seek a UN resolution ‘’to set a deadline for Israel to pull out of Palestinian lands captured in the 1967 war.’’
Abbas also accused Israel of foiling the U.S.-mediated negotiations prior to the Gaza hostilities, by perpetuating "settlement construction, land confiscations, home demolitions, killing and arrest campaigns, and forced displacement in the West Bank."
"In this year, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, Israel has chosen to make it a year of a new war of genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people," Abbas said in his speech.
Abbas said without a “firm timetable” in place to end the Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank, there’s no value in continuing peace talks.
At the same General Assembly on Thursday, Iran’s Rouhani said a deal that ends sanctions against his country over its suspected nuclear weapons activities will open the door to deeper cooperation on regional peace and stability and the fight against the Islamic State, a group that has seized parts of Iraq and Syria. The United States has made clear it will not link the two issues.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to use military force against Iranian atomic sites if diplomacy fails to defuse what it sees as the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is also flying to New York, said that he intends to tell all his foreign counterparts that the present Palestinian leadership blocks progress toward an agreement and harms the ties between the sides.
"The international community must reach the necessary conclusions regarding the support it gives Abbas and the Palestinian Authority under his leadership," he said.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Abbas is "a man who spreads lies and incitement, and disseminates hatred against the State of Israel." ‘’He is no partner for peace with Israel.’’
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett accused the PA President of having a "soft spot" for "murderers, rocket attackers, and in general for our enemies."
"The idea of the Palestinian state flew away this year together with the rockets launched at the Ben Gurion International Airport two months ago," Bennett said.
Israel’s opposition leader and chairman of the Labor Party Isaac Herzog said: "Abu Mazen'z (Abbas') words last night were tough, disappointing and false, but not surprising."
Herzog added that while he completely rejects Abbas' statements, it's in Israel's interests to deal with the Palestinian Authority, not with Hamas. "I'm not part to the 'I told you so' policy of Netanyahu, backed by Bennett and Lieberman. Israel must present an agenda which will bring the region calm and security," Herzog said.
The United States on Saturday termed Abbas' speech at the UN "counterproductive" towards reaching peace with Israel.
Aside from delivering a speech to the UNGA, Netanyahu was due to meet with US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.
Upon his arrival in New York, the Israeli Prime Minister was scheduled to hold his first meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.