Fatah slams Liberman for revoking PA official's entry permit

Fatah responds to the decision by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to revoke the entry permit for Muhammad Al-Madani, head of the Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society and a close aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

“The Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society is working to deliver a real Palestinian peace message to various segments of Israeli society based on the principle of a two-state solution on the borders of June 1967,” says a statement published in Arabic began on Fatah’s official Facebook page.

Fatah says the statement by Liberman about Madani contained many lies, including that Madani is working to cause political instability by trying to assemble a party with Bedouins and other Israelis.

“If partnership between Israeli Jews and Arabs in Israeli political life causes Liberman such frustration and anger, this reflects how far the current Israel is from any attempt to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region, especially since Liberman’s decision came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his rejection of the Arab Peace Initiative,” the statement says.

“The current government in Israel is a government of war in every sense of the word and not a government of peace,” the statement adds.

— Dov Lieber