Netanyahu Says Abbas Lied To Trump About Teaching Peace
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is “always ready for genuine peace,” his first response to the meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Trump and Abbas met at the White House on Wednesday and gave statements to the press.
Netanyahu, however, took issue with Abbas’ statement that the Palestinians teach their children peace.
“I heard President Abbas yesterday say that they teach, Palestinians teach their children peace. That’s unfortunately not true. They name their schools after mass murderers of Israelis and they pay terrorists,” Netanyahu said Thursday during a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu in Jerusalem.
“But I hope that it’s possible to achieve a change and to pursue a genuine peace. This is something Israel is always ready for. I’m always ready for genuine peace,” he said.
Netanyahu also said that he “look(s) forward to discussing with President Trump the best ways to advance peace.”
During their joint statement during the White House welcoming ceremony, Trump called on Abbas to address incitement.
“We are raising our youth, our children and our grandchildren, on a culture of peace,” Abbas said.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!