REPORT: Abbas abandons his hometown in a rare "concession" to Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed that it’s his right to see Safed, not to live in it.         

Abbas said this in an interview with Israel's Channel 2 TV, the top-rated Israeli television newscast, on Thursday, when asked whether he wanted to live in Safed, the Galilee town in which he spent his childhood when Palestine was under the British mandate. Through this statement, Abbas was regarded as making a rare symbolic concession to Israel.  

"Palestine now for me lies within the '67 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," he said.       

Abbas confirmed his control over the regions run by Palestinians in the West Bank, adding that as long as he is in power, "there will be no third armed Intifada (revolt against Israel).”     

While the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no immediate comment on the interview, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Paul Hirschson, said “if Abbas wants to see Safed, or anywhere else in Israel, for that matter, we would happily show him anywhere. But there has to be a desire to move forward with the peace process."        

Some analysts considered that Abbas’ statements aim at influencing the Israeli public opinion before the parliamentary elections expected to be held early next year.


For the full LBCI report, watch the video above.