Abbas and his advisor lash out at Trump and US ambassadors
Abbas and his advisor lash out at Trump and US ambassadors, reject US aid
UPDATED VERSION of PMW's report
on the PA and Fatah's anti-US rhetoric
By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
In his speech on Jan. 14, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made some important statements about future PA relations with the US. He insulted US President Trump, going as far as to say: "May your house be destroyed," and called US ambassadors David Friedman and Nikki Haley "an insult to an administration that respects itself." In addition, Abbas stressed that the Palestinians already decided in 1980 they would not have relations with any country that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, indicating that this is still policy. Finally, Abbas also mocked American aid, saying the US should not do the PA "any favors by paying us money."
Abbas' advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs and Supreme Shari'ah Judge, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, likewise ridiculed the US and its financial aid to the PA, asking: "What idiocy has taken control of your minds to delude you that Jerusalem is for sale, or that one grain of sand from Palestine, all of Palestine, is for sale, or purchase, or bargaining?"With these statements, Abbas and Al-Habbash emphasized the anti-US messages PA and Fatah leaders have been disseminating since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the beginning of December 2017, and which PMW documented in a recent report. The report exposes that the PA and Fatah are mocking Trump, demonizing the US, and rejecting US aid. Below is an updated version of the report that includes the additional statements by Abbas and his advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
Click to read PMW's full updated report
Abbas curses Trump: "May your house be destroyed"
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"Let them [the US] not do us a favor by paying us money... We do not want anyone to pay us. And may [Trump] not tweet at me on Twitter, saying: "We will not pay money to the Palestinians because they are refusing negotiations." May your house be destroyed! When did we refuse? "
[Official PA TV, Abbas in speech to PLO Central Council, Jan. 14, 2018]
Abbas: The US "committed a crime" when it declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel
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"We will not accept the deals the US wants to impose on us. We will not accept its mediation after the crime it committed against Jerusalem [by declaring it Israel's capital] ... We will not agree to be an Authority without authority, and will not accept an occupation without [exacting] a price from the occupation forces."
[Official PA TV, Abbas in speech to PLO Central Council, Jan. 14, 2018]
Abbas: We must cut off relations with countries that recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital
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"We made a decision at the [Arab] Summit in Amman in 1980 that every state that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, or that transfers its embassy to it - we must cut our relations with it."
[Official PA TV, Abbas in speech to PLO Central Council, Jan. 14, 2018]
Abbas attacks US Ambassadors David Friedman and Nikki Haley: They are "an insult to an administration that respects itself"
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"There are two names that I don't want to mention, but my conscience is bothering me, so I have to mention them. American Ambassador [to Israel] David Friedman... He says: "There is no occupation, who said there's an occupation? Israel is building on its lands." ... The second name, their [US] Ambassador to the UN Ms. [Nikki] Haley... who said: "I wear high heels not for fashion, [but] only to hit whoever attacks Israel." I say to her - and may she hear me - [our] response is going to be worse, but not by way of high heels. The response will be worse... I say that these two are an insult to an [American] administration that respects itself, if it wants to respect itself."
[Official PA TV, Abbas in speech to PLO Central Council, Jan. 14, 2018]
Abbas' advisor mocks US aid: "What idiocy has taken control of your minds to delude you that Jerusalem is for sale"
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Abbas' advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs and Supreme Shari'ah Judge, Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "Do what you want, do what you want. This money that you are threatening to cancel and stop - do you imagine that we might bargain over Jerusalem? What idiocy has taken control of your minds to delude you that Jerusalem is for sale, or that one grain of sand from Palestine, all of Palestine, is for sale, or purchase, or bargaining?"
[Official PA TV, Jan. 5, 2018]
Abbas' advisor mocks the US: World said no to US "oppression and arrogance," "world not for sale"
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Abbas' advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs and Supreme Shari'ah Judge, Mahmoud Al-Habbash: "The entire world has recently had its say in the face of the oppression and arrogance that the American administration is attempting to impose on us and on the world. The world is not for sale or purchase. The world's honor is not for sale... The world said: 'No.' We send our greetings to the peoples of the world that stood with the Palestinian right. We send our greetings to the states, governments, figures, and organizations that stood with the Palestinian right... As for those who have sold themselves cheaply - there is still room on the trash heap of history."
[Official PA TV, Jan. 5, 2018]