Abbas describes wave of murderous attacks as “peaceful demonstrations that were met with [Israeli] shooting”

President Abbas’ YouTube channel, Fatah-run Awdah TV

Speech by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during his meeting with representatives of Arabic media in Israel on Feb. 9, 2016

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: “As you know, a number of months ago, your people here [in the West Bank] began a peaceful mass uprising ‎‎(term here refers to several months of Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians, ‎including rock-throwing, stabbings, and shootings -Ed.)‎. They expressed the uprising through peaceful popular demonstrations, as the pain became too much.
When they (i.e., the Israelis) enter in a way that harms the honor of these holy sites, they cause harm to these sites…
The attacks against the Islamic and Christian holy sites are offensive. It is one of the reasons we began the popular uprising. All of these matters which I’ve noted are what led to the popular uprising, which embodies peaceful demonstrations, and they were received [by Israel] with shooting and direct intentional murder…
At times they talk about the incitement by us, the incitement in the media, incitement on TV and radio, incitement by me, that I incite. We said to them: When are they from? From the Wye agreement, in other words, 17 years ago. We said: There is incitement? There is incitement by me, OK, we will establish a three-way committee – American, Israeli, and Palestinian, and if the Americans tell me that [there is] incitement, we will accept it. We agree that the US be the mediator. This committee existed for six months, and then it was cancelled. And until now, every time they talk about incitement we say to them come, let us sit and discuss where the incitement is. The incitement is not by us, the incitement is by them. However I do not want an exchange of accusations [in the style of] ‘by you and not by me’…
If Israel wants, it should ask itself a question. Those children, 13-15-year-olds, and I say to you honestly, I challenge anyone from the State of Palestine or the Palestinian organizations to say that he sent one of those children [to carry out a stabbing operation]. In other words, those children went themselves. Those children are aware, they see. They see the injustice, the oppression, the abuse. They see the holy plaza (i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque plaza) and the Church [of the Nativity]. They see [what happened to] Dawabshe and Abu Khdeir (i.e., Palestinians who were murdered by Jewish extremists, see below). The Israeli leaders do not ask, and I direct his words to the leaders and the security: Why did they go? Why does a 13-year-old boy go to kill, why? Did someone fill [his head with messages of incitement]? Did someone incite him? However, the oppression, the people are losing their minds. You have to be honest with these people so that you do not lose it. If they (i.e., the Israeli leaders) would ask about this, I heard that they are taking to account the brother MPs (i.e., the Arab members of Israeli Parliament), did they ask themselves why this is happening? Do not blame others, why did you visit [Martyrs’ families] and why did you not visit?’ Ask yourself why he did this, why did this child do this act? Why did he go? I challenge a thousand times, if [someone] will come to me and tell me that someone filled [his head with messages of incitement] and gave him a knife. It cannot be that this happens. Ask yourselves why the injustice and oppression lead to this…
The world has slowly begun to understand [interrupts himself] as the Israeli media and the incitement against us [interrupts himself], we do not incite, our voice is small. However, their voice is large and reaches the entire world, and it is they who incite against us, and not us who incite against them. Therefore, when they talk about incitement, we say to them come to the [negotiating] table and they do not want to. They refuse to sit as they know they are inciting and not us. We see official reports according to which the incitement comes from schools, the leadership, and the Israeli radio stations, and from the Israeli officials. This is the thuggery and mentality of the occupation, which needs to end, and which the leaders of the Palestinian people must give up on.”

Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were ‎set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed in ‎this attack, his father, Saad Dawabsheh and mother, Reham Dawabsheh, died of their injuries later. The ‎only survivor of the attack was the couple’s other son, 4 year-old Ahmad, who suffered burns on 60% of ‎his body and is being treated in Israel. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned ‎this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all ‎Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered ‎the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to ‎justice forthwith." ‎
Israeli Police is treating the attack as a nationalistic crime carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. In ‎early December 2015, Israeli police arrested several Jewish extremists who were believed to have been ‎involved in the attack, and in January 2016, Israel indicted 21-year-old Amiram Ben Uliel, a member of the ‎radical Jewish group “Hilltop Youth,” with three counts of murder, attempted murder, arson and ‎conspiracy to commit a nationalistically-motivated crime. Ben Uliel confessed to police that he carried out the attack in revenge for the killing of Malachi Rosenfeld, an Israeli who was shot and killed in a terror attack in the West Bank. A minor whose name remains under a police ‎gag order was also charged.‎

Muhammad Abu Khdeir - Palestinian teen kidnapped and murdered by Israeli extremists in Jerusalem on July 2, 2014, in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel in the West Bank on June 12. Following Abu Khdeir’s murder, Palestinians took to the streets of East Jerusalem in violent and continuous protests. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers immediately condemned the revenge killing in the strongest terms. Israeli police arrested six Israeli suspects on July 6 of whom three confessed to murdering Khdeir. One of the murderers, Yosef Ben-David, is serving 1 life sentence and an additional 20 years. His two accomplices, both unnamed minors, are serving 1 life sentence and 21 years respectively.