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Israeli minister: Abbas is our ‘number one enemy’

December 1, 2016 at 9:21 pm

Right-wing Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the “number one enemy” of Israel today, Israeli media reported.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Steinitz reacted to a speech made by Abbas a day earlier at the Fatah party’s seventh congress, during which the Palestinian head of state reiterated that he did not recognise Israel as a Jewish state, and that Palestinian recognition of Israel “would not last forever” so long as Israel did not recognise a Palestinian state.

“Abbas is talking about stopping his recognition of Israel, but first he should start recognising Israel. Abbas has never recognised Israel’s right to exist. To this very day he rejects Israel’s right to exist,” the Times of Israel quoted Steinitz as saying.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. From an ideological perspective, Abbas is the number one enemy of the very existence of Israel, even more so than Arafat,” he added, referring to deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Steinitz, a member of the right-wing Likud party and a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, echoed in his statement the Israeli government’s stance that Palestinian recognition of Israel’s Jewish character is a prerequisite to any peace negotiations.

Palestinian officials have however balked at recognising Israel as a Jewish state, fearing that it would lead to further discrimination against the more than 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel.

However, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and numerous Palestinian officials, including Abbas, have recognised Israel’s right to exist since 1993 and pushed for a two-state solution with an Israeli and a Palestinian state existing side by side.

Meanwhile, Israel has not recognized a Palestinian state’s right to exist in any form.