Abbas: Good luck to Israelis on election day
PA president has not endorsed a candidate, but has said he hopes the vote will produce ‘the one’ who believes in peace
Adam Rasgon is a former Palestinian affairs reporter at The Times of Israel
DEAD SEA, Jordan — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has wished Israelis success on voting in Tuesday’s national elections.
Over the past number of months, the PA president has made few comments on the elections, but he recently told an Israeli delegation that visited Ramallah that he hopes they produce “the one” who believes in peace. He and his advisers have not stated publicly which party they prefer to win the vote.
Asked by The Times of Israel on Saturday at the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea whether he has a message for Israel ahead of the elections, Abbas said, “No.” He then started to walk away but then muttered, “May God make them successful.”
Abbas attended a couple of events at the World Economic Forum, sitting alongside Jordanian King Abdullah, and met Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi.
The latest polls indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party likely will be best placed to lead the next government. But Netanyahu said on Friday that the Israeli right “is in danger” of losing its grip on power following the elections. In a video posted to social media, the premier called on voters to “come back home to Likud,” warning that the Blue and White party could “break the right-wing bloc.”
Benny Gantz, Blue and White’s top candidate, has said he believes he will become Israel’s next prime minister.
The Times of Israel Community.