TEL AVIV – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday wished North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un “health and happiness” to mark the country’s “Liberation Day,” amid threats from the dictator to fire missiles at the U.S. territory of Guam.
“The Korean people offered the most precious sacrifices for their freedom and dignity,” Abbas said in a telegram to Kim, the PA’s official news outlet, Wafa, reported.
Abbas added that he wished “the Korean people continued stability and prosperity; and that the historically friendly relations between Palestine and North Korea and their two peoples will continue to develop and grow.”
Abbas also thanked North Korea for its “firm solidarity in support of the rights [of the Palestinian] people and its just struggle to end the occupation and establish our independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
President Donald Trump has warned Kim that his threats will be met with “fire and fury.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett slammed Abbas for his comments.
“First Hitler, then S. Hussein, now Kim Jong-un. If you want to take a moral stand, check who the Palestinians support and do the opposite,” Bennett tweeted.
Abbas is no stranger to wishing good tidings upon tyrannical regimes. Earlier this year, a senior PA official “conveyed to Iran’s president [Hassan Rouhani] President Mahmoud Abbas’ blessings to the Iranian people and its leadership on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution,” according to an article in the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida.
Hamas, the ruler of Gaza, has in the past lauded North Korea for its criticism of Israel. In April, the terror group thanked Kim for supporting “Palestine” after Kim issued a statement condemning Israel for insulting its leadership.
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