REPORT: Mahmoud Abbas' statement creates divisions among Israelis

An international campaign to thwart the Palestinian state project, indirect threats and personal attacks are the reactions launched by the Israeli government following the statements of the Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had made a statement whereby he called on Israelis to resume negotiations as two states and two peoples according to the "67's borders", promising that "he doesn't really want to go back to his hometown of Safed in Galilee after the settlement". The last promise was interpreted by Abbas' opponents as if he was taking away the "right of return" from the refugees.               

In this context, the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not only attack the Palestinian President, but also described him as an hypocrite and launched an international campaign against him, through which he is seeking to convince the European states to refuse the draft calling for recognition of a Palestinian state.                

"Less than two month ago, this man was speaking at the United Nations in an unacceptable demonic way, a way that was only adopted by the Nazi Propaganda Minister Doctor Paul Joseph Goebbels," Lieberman said.                      

Lieberman's position, which is close to that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli right wing, contributed in heating up the internal debate, after the right wing considered that Abou Mazen's statements are an intervention in the Israeli electoral battle aiming at misleading the voters. Netanyahu also attacked his predecessor Ehud Olmert, leading the left wing supporters to slam the government and accuse it of repelling the initiative of the Palestinians.                     

These developments took place in Israel at a time when a secret report was published stating that the Netanyahu-Lieberman policy is harming Israel's interest abroad, and is not contributing to keep it a Jewish state.


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