Prime minister accuses Palestinian president of 'distorting well documented historical facts' after Mahmoud Abbas claims Zionist forces expelled Palestinians in 1948 in New York Times op-ed
Attila Somfalvi
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of "distorting known and well-documented historical facts" following the latter's op-ed in the New York Times.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said that peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are more vital than ever after a meeting at the White House with Jordan's King Abdullah.
The president said the US has an enormous stake in the outcome and will continue to seek an "equitable and just" solution.
In his article, Abbas addressed the Palestinians' UN bid for statehood and noted that the last time the Palestinian issue took center stage at the General Assembly was in 1947, with the decision to divide Palestine.
"Shortly thereafter, Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel," Abbas said.
Netanyahu said in response that the Palestinians were the ones to reject the Partition Plan, while the Jews agreed to it.
"Arab armies assisted by Palestinian forces were those who attacked the Jewish state with the aim of destroying it. There is no mention of this in the article."
The prime minister further added, "One can deduce that the Palestinian leadership views the establishment of the Palestinian state as a means to continue the conflict rather than end it."
US President Barack Obama is slated to give a speech on the Middle East on Thursday and will host Netanyahu at the White House the following day. The prime minister is slated to address an AIPAC conference and US Congress during his visit to Washington.
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NOTE:
If the Cairo speech proved anything, it is that Obama distorts history too! Get ready .... we'll soon know if he has studied ME history since he first took office.
