Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. slammed the assertion that violence against the Israelis is somehow tied to whether or not there’s an ongoing peace process at the time.
Ron Dermer accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of “spreading this libel” that Israel is trying to invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dermer then corrected the reporter who spoke on CNN before his Tuesday evening appearance.
“Is part of problem the breakdown of the peace process? … In the mid-1990s, we had buses blowing up. And people said at the time that was because the peace process was actually moving forward,” the ambassador said. “Now they’re saying that the reason why Jews are being massacred is because there is not a peace process. It has nothing to do with the peace process. It has to do with the fact that you have in Palestinian society people who want to murder Jews.”
“And they’re now in an environment where people are encouraging it. Hamas is celebrating in the streets of Gaza. Abbas is not condemning these types of acts. He is fueling the fire.”
Dermer said Abbas could start by ending his pact with Hamas. “President Abbas is sitting in the same government with the terrorists who are celebrating the savage murder of Jews in a synagogue,” he said. “The second thing that he might want to do is stop using the media that he controls, the schools that he controls, the mosques that he controls to incite against Jews, to incite to violence and terrorism, and spread a lie, as if we’re trying on destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is false. And he has to stop and the world has to hold him accountable.”
He said European governments are sending Abbas a clear message by recognizing a Palestinian state: “Do what you’re doing. Stay in bed with these terrorists. Continue to incite against Israel and we will give you everything you want. A different message has to be heard from the international community.”
Dermer confirmed that the FBI will be involved in the investigation of the synagogue attack since three American rabbis were killed. The other two casualties were a British rabbi and a Druze police officer.
“I don’t know if people know this, but Palestinian terrorists have killed more Americans over the last few months than ISIS has killed Americans,” he said.
“…The same people who are celebrating the murder of Jews in a synagogue were celebrating the murder of 3,000 Americans on 9/11. These are the same people. It’s the same type of fanaticism. And that’s why we have to stand together to fight it.”
Dermer called it a “joke” that Palestinian leaders justify the handing out of candy and celebration for the murders as a normal reaction to Israeli oppression.
“The Nazis had a lot of grievances. They were very upset about Versailles. They were very upset about World War I. They were very upset about their economy. No one cared, because people said nothing justifies Nazism. That’s the approach we have to have here as well,” the ambassador continued.
“Nothing justifies terrorism. It doesn’t really matter what their grievances are. You can’t have people go into a synagogue and kill people standing in prayer shawls, murder Jews in a savage way and have people dancing in the streets. This is a huge problem and the world has to stand together to confront it.”
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