Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Mahmoud Abbas: I’ll Speak to Knesset — and Say What I Like

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would be willing to speak to the Knesset, but only if he is permitted to discuss the issues he chooses.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a public statement last week called on Abbas to address the Knesset and said he would travel to Ramallah to speak to the P.A. leadership.

“Netanyahu comes up with an offer and then immediately puts forward his own terms – that this and that should be said and so on. No, if those terms are put forward, I do not accept that,” Abbas told the Voice of Russia in remarks broadcast Friday. “But if he wants me to come and say the things I want to say, then I am ready to do it — but only in order to say what I want to say and not what he wants to hear. ”

Abbas said there would be a “full-fledged” Palestinian state.

“When Israel realizes the need to establish peace in the Middle East, then there will emerge a Palestinian state with the capital in holy Jerusalem,” the P.A. leader said.

He said the Palestinian Authority currently is not discussing efforts to push forward a bid for full membership in the United Nations.

Abbas said Russia has a “significant part to play” in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.