Erekat blasts US envoy, says payments to prisoners won’t stop

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat slams US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, branding him a supporter of Israeli “colonialism,” and ruling out Palestinian cooperation with the US peace efforts.

In a rare interview directly criticizing the Palestinian leadership, Friedman had seemed to indicate that the White House’s patience with PA President Mahmoud Abbas was running out, and had warned that if Abbas refused to negotiate with Israel and the Americans, others would.

Friedman on Thursday clarified comments he made during a media interview.“I was misquoted in various reports stemming from an interview that published today,” Friedman tweeted. “The United States is not seeking ‘to replace’ Mahmoud Abbas. It is for the Palestinian people to choose its leadership.”

“There is no doubt that Mr. Friedman’s behavior and statements are irresponsible and solely guided to advance Israeli colonialism, an enterprise that he has been personally committed to as one of its funders,” says Erekat, referring to past donations by Friedman to settlement-building in Beit El.

“During his time as US Ambassador to Israel, he has worked tirelessly to advocate and legitimize Israeli violations while dehumanizing Palestinians, inciting against the Palestinian national movement, and now even calling for a change of leadership in Palestine,” says Erekat.

Erekat also berates Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman for his criticism of the Palestinian Authority over payments to the families of convicted Palestinian terrorists and other prisoners. He says the PA will never give up on these stipends.

“We will not abandon our prisoners. We consider this a moral and legal obligation enshrined by Article 81 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. While Israel will not make these payments, as required by international humanitarian law, Palestine will provide for the families through the Palestinian social welfare system – as any other nation worldwide provides for the maintenance of their citizens,” he says.

His comments come after the United States passes a law to cut PA funding over these payments.

Liberman, “an illegal settler himself, and Friedman, a staunch supporter of Israel’s illegal colonial-settlement activities, have proven to be members of the same camp,” adds Erekat.

“A camp which aims to deny the rights of the Palestinian people, and perpetuate occupation while imposing an Apartheid regime all over Palestine. Mr. Friedman has further confirmed that there is nothing to come out from President Trump’s Middle East efforts that remotely resembles freedom, justice, or peace.”