(VOA) He accused the Jewish state of refusing to release Palestinian prisoners while creating new Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It was his most pointed warning yet that he might end engagement with Israel, but he said nothing about coordination between Palestinian security forces and Israeli troops in the West Bank against their shared enemy, the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The Abbas speech drew an immediate rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader said it was “deceitful and encourages incitement and destruction in the Middle East.”