Abbas ‘fully supports’ Palestinian officials who meet with Israelis
Abbas praised the “national work” of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society despite the “difficulties and problems they have been facing.”
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York, U.S., February 11, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday rejected the resignation of a senior Palestinian official accused of promoting normalization with Israel.Mohammed al-Madani, a veteran member of the Fatah Central Committee and head of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, submitted his resignation to Abbas after he and his colleagues faced widespread criticism from Palestinians for arranging meetings with Israelis.The attacks came after committee members recently attended a meeting in Tel Aviv organized by the Israeli Peace Parliament, a group consisting of several former Knesset members and ministers, as well as left-wing peace activists and Arab Israelis.Last week the committee invited Israeli journalists to Ramallah for meetings with a number of Palestinian officials – a move that was also strongly condemned by Palestinians, who accused al-Madani and his colleagues of promoting normalization with Israel and denounced them as “traitors.”Al-Madani decided to quit in protest of the PA leadership’s failure to defend him and his colleagues in wake of the criticism, most of which appeared on social media, a member of the committee told The Jerusalem Post.He said Abbas, who met on Monday with representatives of the committee in his office, expressed full support for the work of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society.Abbas praised the “national work” of al-Madani and his colleagues despite the “difficulties and problems they have been facing.”Abbas said he highly appreciates the fact that members of the committee have been going to meet with Israelis “to persuade them that we want peace.”Abbas acknowledged, however, that some Palestinians don’t understand the nature and importance of the work of the Palestinian Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society.Palestinian contacts with Israelis, he said, began in 1977 despite reservations expressed by some Palestinian officials.“Then, we confronted them and I explained to them the importance of our work,” Abbas added. “As a result, the Palestine National Council (the PLO’s legislative body) took a decision to hold meetings with Jewish democratic parties.”Abbas reminded the committee members that they were acting on instructions from the Palestinian leadership, and not on their own. “Everyone must give you all respect and appreciate the difficult work you are doing,” he said. “We stand against anyone who offends you or tries to harm you, because we see your work as a complementation of our national work. We sent you on a mission and we won’t abandon you. We will also do everything to protect you.”
