Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, on Saturday night attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for his willingess to travel to Jordan to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in an attempt to stop the wave of Arab terrorism.
“Abbas is a terrorist and we should not be talking with him,” Bennett told Channel 2 News.
Abbas, stressed Bennett, is “the head of the snake of incitement. He created a new blood libel on soldiers allegedly murdering a child. I think it’s wrong to plead with him to come to a meeting.”
“The world longs for a clear statement of the State of Israel that Abbas is not a partner and that Israel opposes Palestinian statehood,” he added.
Bennett made similar remarks in an interview with the BBC on Friday, in which he was asked whether he is in favor of talking with the PA.
“This guy is responsible for the wave of murder that’s going on in the streets of Israel,” Bennett said, adding, “About 10 days ago he called upon Muslims to prevent Jews from going up to the Temple Mount with their ‘filthy feet’…so as long as he incites his own people to murder Jews, I don’t see what we can talk to him about.”
On Thursday, Netanyahu told reporters he was “open” to negotiations with Abbas, but emphasized that Abbas is not open to peace talks with Israel.
“I’m willing to meet him (Abbas), he’s not willing to meet me. Get with the program,” emphasized the prime minister, rebutting a question about whether he would be willing to meet the PA chairman. “You should direct your questions to him.”
Netanyahu qualified, however, that he would put peace talks on the table in the event Abbas would be able to calm the terror wave which has engulfed Israel.
On Friday, MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) said that peace talks may restart again via a diplomatic summit in Jordan.
“I suppose there are officials here who are trying to bring calm, and there may be a meeting in Jordan,” he said on Army Radio. “But as long as Palestinians are unable to produce this kind of leader, who knows how to respond to the outstretched hand of the Israeli public, the situation will continue to be miserable and gloomy.”
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