PM’s Paris tweet pic crops out Abbas
At solidarity march, only four dignitaries stood between Netanyahu and Palestinian leader
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a photo on Twitter of himself and world leaders marching in Paris on Sunday in solidarity with the victims of a series of terrorist attacks that shook France last week.
The photo had a seemingly notable omission, that of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas half of whose head and body are visible on the right side.
“I marched in one row with world leaders in order to unite against terrorism. Any terrorism must be fought to the end,” read the accompanying text of the picture.
The prime minister has previously accused of Abbas of backing terror when the Palestinian Authority head signed a unity deal with Hamas last April, effectively ending Israeli-Palestinian peace talks negotiations which had been ongoing for the previous nine months.
I marched in one row with world leaders in order to unite against terrorism. Any terrorism must be fought to the end pic.twitter.com/X5oFg5r3cB
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 11, 2015
Netanyahu, Abbas and dozens of world leaders marched in the Paris rally which attracted between 1.2 and 1.6 million people. The French interior ministry said some 3.7 million people marched across France on Sunday.
According to an Israeli media report Sunday, France had initially opposed Netanyahu’s attendance at the march, believing the Israeli leader’s presence at the rally would be “divisive.” The report was later confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu initially accepted Paris’s wish that he stay away and on Saturday cited security concerns to explain why he would not attend the event.
However, the prime minister changed his mind later Saturday after Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett announced they would join the march, Israel’s Channel 2 news reported.
When Netanyahu’s office told the Elysee Palace that he would be coming after all, France responded by highlighting that it was extending an invitation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the report. The French government also announced a planned meeting between Hollande and Abbas Saturday night.
The Times of Israel Community.