Despite Everything, Abbas Tells Israelis, Peace Is Attainable

PLO leadership abbas
ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty

The Times of Israel reports: The Palestinian Authority president reached out to Israel on Thursday, saying he opposes near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis and suggesting the violence would stop if the defunct peace process were to resume.

Israel has accused Mahmoud Abbas of failing to condemn the wave of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces that erupted in mid-September.

The attacks, mostly stabbings but also shootings and car-ramming assaults, have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. Over the same time, at least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with security forces.

In a rare, candid interview with Israeli Channel 2’s “Uvda” program, Abbas said the violence stems from “lack of hope, lack of trust” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict. He also said that if peace talks resume, it would “give my people hope and nobody would dare go and stab or shoot.”

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