U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason D. Greenblatt slammed the Palestinian Authority on Thursday after one of its officials presided over a hate-filled rally against the U.S. and Israel.
Taking to twitter, Greenblatt wrote: "Mahmoud al-Aloul, a Fatah/PA leader, was recently at a ceremony where a coffin with photos of @POTUS & @Netanyahu were burned. Disgraceful & disgusting. Stunts like this only harm Palestinians. Once again - time to get serious if you want to help Palestinians."
Al-Aloul is the deputy chairman of Fatah, the faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. This means that al-Aloul could very well become Abbas' successor.
Mahmoud Al-Aloul, a Fatah/PA leader, was recently at a ceremony where a coffin with photos of @POTUS & @Netanyahu were burned. Disgraceful & disgusting. Stunts like this only harm Palestinians. Once again - time to get serious if you want to help Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/4c40Fed2v4
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) January 10, 2019
The rally Greenblatt referred to took place earlier this month to mark the 54th anniversary of Fatah as a political party.
The footage from the rally was reported on by Palestinian Media Watch, which monitors incitement in the Palestinian media. According to PMW, during the rally al-Aloul praised attacks carried out by Palestinians against Israelis.
"We in Fatah are not being lured away by anything - neither power nor government - and we again emphasize our identity as a national liberation movement that is fighting for our people's freedom and independence. We will complete the path, without any shadow of a doubt, and we still see that our most important priority is to fight our primary enemy, the occupation and those who assist it," PMW quoted al-Aloul saying.
Earlier this week Greenblatt slammed the PA for taking issue with U.S. officials visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He said this shows they cannot come to terms with the city's historical ties to the Jewish people.
"PA officials criticize…@AmbJohnBolton and @USAmbIsrael visit to historic Jewish areas of Jerusalem. Will these officials ever realize that peace can only be built on truth and reality?" Greenblatt tweeted, referring to U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman receiving a guided tour of the Western Wall Tunnels.
In December 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump broke with decades of American policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and several months later moved the U.S. Embassy to the city.
Greenblatt and other administration officials said the U.S. decision did not prejudice the final status of the city as part of a negotiated settlement, as it simply recognized the reality that the city is and will continue to be Israel's seat of government. The PA, which was outraged by the move, has boycotted the administration ever since.
