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Netanyahu again invites Abbas to meet, says door always open to peace
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his invitation to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, following Abbas’s claim last week that he had requested a meeting with Netanyahu.
In a rare interview with Israeli media, Abbas last week told Channel Two’s Ilana Dayan that “I’m prepared to meet [Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu anywhere, any time.” He claimed, “I suggested to him to meet, by the way,” declining to elaborate on the offer. It appeared to be a response to Netanyahu’s repeated calls for peace talks with Abbas without preconditions. Abbas has previously insisted that before peace talks which were suspended two years ago can resume, Israel must first release Palestinian prisoners and freeze construction in the West Bank, both measures which Israel has formally undertaken.
Netanyahu took the opportunity yesterday to reply to Abbas’s statement by inviting him to meet. Speaking at a press conference alongside Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, Netanyahu noted “President Abbas said on Israeli television a few days ago that if I invite him, he’ll come.” Consequently, said Netanyahu “I’m inviting him. I’ve cleared my schedule for the week. Any day he can come, I’ll be here.” He added that “My door is always open for those who want peace with Israel.”
Netanyahu said that should a meeting take place, “The first order of business will be ending the Palestinian campaign of incitement to murder Israelis.” At least 31 Israelis have been killed in a current wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis, which have at times been perpetrated on a near-daily basis. Israeli leaders across the political spectrum have long complained that incendiary rhetoric from Palestinian leaders, including Abbas helps stoke the violence. On a recent visit to Israel, US Vice President Joe Biden also took issue with Palestinian encouragement to violence, saying “the rhetoric that incites that violence, the retribution that it generates, has to stop … This cannot become an accepted modus operandi.”