Palestinians Hit Romney for Video Comments

By Reuters September 18, 2012

Palestinian leaders said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was wrong to accuse them of not seeking peace in a controversial video.

“No one stands to gain more from peace with Israel than Palestinians and no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace than Palestinians,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Romney was captured on a secretly recorded video telling donors in May that peace talks with the Palestinians are a waste of time. He also suggested the two-state solution wouldn’t work, even though that goal is part of his party’s official platform, in the video, which was published by Mother Jones magazine.

“Only those who want to maintain the Israeli occupation will claim the Palestinians are not interested in peace,” Erekat said.

Romney has sought to make inroads with Jewish voters by emphasizing his hawkish views on Israel. He recently visited Israel and GOP officials have criticized President Obama for supposedly not supporting the Jewish State strongly enough.

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