Middle East Monitor / September 24, 2022
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, harshly attacked Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday over his address to world leaders at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, claiming it was a “lie-laden speech.”
“Time after time, he [Abbas] uses the stage of the UN to incite against Israel and back the terrorists whom he funds,” Erdan said, stressing that he will exert much effort to undermine the Palestinian plan to gain full membership to the UN.
“The US opposes it, as do members of the Security Council who well know that [Abbas] has in the past rejected every peace plan and that terror organizations rule PA territory,” Erdan claimed.
Abbas asserted that Israel: “Through its premeditated and deliberate policies, is destroying the two-state solution,” and this proves that Israel does not “believe in peace” and that “we no longer have an Israeli partner to whom we can talk.”
However, he acknowledged Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s speech to the assembly the previous day, in which he claimed to support a two-state solution.
Abbas said this was a “positive development”, but: “The real test to the seriousness and credibility of this stance is for the Israeli government to go back to the negotiation table immediately.”
Commenting on Abbas’ speech, leader of Israel’s left-wing Meretz party, Zehava Galon, described Abbas’ speech as “an opening for peace”.
“Lapid opened it yesterday, and [Abbas] is timidly extending his own hand,” Galon said, adding: “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a predetermined fate. The cycle of blood can end, and it depends first and foremost on brave leadership on our side.”
Galon called on Lapid to: “Take the next brave step and meet with [Abbas].”
