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, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.