U.S. President Donald Trump's recent interview with Israel Hayom made headlines across the globe but has been mostly ignored by the Palestinian media, presumably because of his harsh criticism of the Palestinian leadership and its recent decision to cut off high-level communication channels with the U.S.
But on Monday, a senior Palestinian official accompanying Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on his visit to Moscow and meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, ended this silence.
"The things Trump told Israel Hayom underscored just how biased he and his people are in favor of Israel," the official said. "Portraying the Palestinians as an obstacle to peace and the extremist Israeli government and its leader as peace-loving is a total misrepresentation and distortion of reality."
The interview with Israel Hayom was conducted by Editor-in-Chief Boaz Bismuth in the Oval Office. During their conversation, Trump criticized the Palestinian leadership for refusing to cooperate with the U.S. in its efforts to jump-start the peace process and its decision to essentially boycott U.S. officials visiting the region. "Right now, I would say the Palestinians are not looking to make peace, they are not looking to make peace," Trump said, while also questioning Israel's readiness for peace talks. "I don't know frankly if we are going to even have talks, we will see what happens, but I think it is very foolish for the Palestinians and I also think it would be very foolish for the Israelis if they don't make a deal. It's our only opportunity and it will never happen after this."
The official blasted Trump's comments and said that the PA leadership was not surprised by his answers. "Trump's pro-Israel views are well known," the official lamented, claiming that Trump has consistently sounded anti-Palestinian rhetoric. "Time and time again, Trump manages to infuriate the people and the leaders in Palestine, and therefore there is no possibility of having the U.S. mediate any future peace talks with Israel; Trump has singlehandedly managed to make the U.S. lose its status as the exclusive mediator between us and the Israelis."
The Palestinian official stressed that Abbas' meeting with the Russian president was arranged at the latter's request, to discuss Trump's Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to enlist Russia a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of the United States. He added that "if Trump and his administration believe they can impose the peace plan Washington is drafting, they are terribly wrong." He warned that "this could increase the instability in the region and lead to a major escalation."
According to the Russian media on Monday, Abbas and Putin discussed the latest tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
