New York – Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), said yesterday that “the Israelis are responsible” for the recent Tel Aviv suicide bombing that murdered 5 Israelis and injured dozens more. He asserted this in his first English-language interview since taking office in January. It was published in the March 7, 2005 edition of Time Magazine.
When Abbas was asked by Time, “Who was responsible for the Tel Aviv attacks?” he answered, “If you ask me who is responsible, the Israelis are responsible. The bombers came from the suburb of Tulkaem to Tel Aviv, crossing the wall. So who is responsible? The wall and the Israelis.”
Another question posed by Time Magazine was, “You were born in Safed, in what is now Israel. How did it feel when you went back for a visit in 1995?” Abbas answered, “Very sad. It’s my country…”
When the reporter stated that “Israelis and Americans are shocked to think Hamas could be in your parliament…because they won seats in municipal elections in January…” Abbas answered, “Why not? Hamas should be in the parliament.”
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein said, “Holocaust Denier Abbas’ shocking statements that Israel is responsible for Palestinian Arabs murdering Jews, that the terrorist group Hamas should be in the cabinet, and that Israel is really his (the Palestinian Arabs) land and country makes it crystal clear that Abbas is following in Arafat’s uncompromising, bloody and belligerent footsteps.
“It is painful to see that every day Abbas makes it more and more clear he is simply Arafat in a suit. He recently executed dozens of Palestinians who helped Israel root out Palestinian terrorists, while he continues refusing to dismantle or disarm the terror groups, end all the incitement, close the bomb factories, or arrest the hundreds of terrorists walking free. We urge Congress and President Bush not to hand over $350M in U.S. taxpayers’ dollars and not to invite Abbas to the White House until he fulfills all of his commitments to the Road Map, starts talking like a peacemaker who supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and apologizes for his Holocaust denial.”