Abbas Called Israel Racist Three Times Before U.N. Statehood Vote

Before the United Nations Thursday vote granting statehood to Palestine took place, Mahmoud Abbas referred to Israel as a racist state or a culprit of racism three times. 

Speaking to the U.N. before the vote, Abbas said:

1. “Israeli occupation is becoming synonymous with an apartheid system of colonial occupation, which institutionalizes the plague of racism.”

2. “The innocent lives that have been taken by Israeli bombs–more than 168 martyrs, mostly women and children, including 12 members of one family…in Gaza–are a painful reminder to the world that this racist, colonial occupation is making the two-state solution and the prospect for realizing peace a very difficult choice.”

3. “Your support for our endeavor today will give a reason for hope to a people besieged by a racist, colonial occupation.”

Note Abbas conveniently left out the hundreds of rockets Hamas has launched into Israel; the use of women, children, and the elderly as human shields; and the fact that Israel’s response has been carried out in the posture of self-defense rather than aggression.