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Associated Press

Israeli leaders slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday for a fiery, invective-filled speech against President Donald Trump, in which he also attacked the administration’s envoys.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Abbas had “lost his senses” and had given up on the prospect of peace negotiations in favour of open confrontation with both Israel and the United States.
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the pro-settler Jewish Home Party, said the speech represented Abbas’ swansong.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a trip to India, said Abbas had “tore off the mask” and exposed what he called the truth.
“The root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their continuous refusal to recognise the Jewish state in any borders,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

In a rambling, two and a half-hour long speech on Sunday night, the Palestinian leader sharply escalated his rhetoric, lashing out at the US, Israel, Britain and even other Arab leaders, whom he told to “go to hell” for criticising him. He pronounced the peace process dead, and accused Israel of killing it.
The speech came at a time of great frustration for the 82-year-old Abbas, who after 13 years in power has made little progress in his goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in 1967.
The rival Hamas militant group now controls the Gaza Strip and his erstwhile Arab allies have quietly moved closer to Israel or turned their attention to other pressing matters such as Iran.
He has also lost faith in the United States as a Middle East broker following Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month. Abbas is also deeply unpopular with his own public.
Palestinian leader Abbas to skip meeting with US Vice-President Pence over Trump’s Jerusalem decision
In the address, Abbas attacked Trump over the Jerusalem decision and rebuked Trump’s recent Twitter comment threatening to cut American aid and alleging the Palestinians were no longer willing to negotiate a peace deal.
“Since when did we reject negotiations?” Abbas told members of the Palestinian Central Council, a key decision-making body. “Shame,” Abbas said, addressing Trump.
To laughter from the crowd, Abbas then added the phrase “Yekhreb Beitak,” literally translated as “may your house be demolished.”
In colloquial Palestinian Arabic, the phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but its use in a widely watched speech seemed jarring – and could exacerbate his already fragile relationship with an American president who is particularly averse to criticism.

Despite the tough rhetoric, Abbas did not announce any major policy decisions. He said he remains committed to seeking a peace deal with Israel and promoting a culture of peace in Palestinian society.
He denounced terrorism and noted that he has signed an anti-terrorism agreement with over 80 countries, including the US, while saying he maintains a team dedicated to outreach with the Israeli public.
He said he supports only non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation.
Even so, much of his language was especially harsh. Abbas has said that by siding with the Israelis on the sensitive issue of Jerusalem, Trump had destroyed his credibility and made it impossible for the Palestinians to accept his vision for a peace plan.
Palestinian president denounces Trump’s peace plan as ‘the slap of the century’
Abbas called Trump’s moves a “slap in the face” and threatened that the Palestinians “will slap back,” without elaborating.
He took particular aim at the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a strong supporter of Israel’s West Bank settlements, for reportedly objecting to the use of the word occupation.
And he lashed out at Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, for once quipping that she wore high heels to fend off Israel’s opponents.

“He [Friedman] is an offensive human being, and I will not agree to meet with him anywhere. They requested that I meet him and I refused,” he said.
“Nikki Haley too. She threatens to hit people who hurt Israel with the heel of her shoe, and the response to her speech will be harsher.”
Flare-up with Israel tests Hamas effort to keep Gaza on low boil
Given the lack of actual policy decisions, the speech appeared to reflect frustration over prolonged deadlock and a sense of abandonment.
“It is a necessary bravado for his own people having come short in the diplomatic process,” said Uri Savir, an Israeli who negotiated with Abbas in the early 1990s.
“Rhetoric aside, I know him as a moderate, but there is a dangerous air of desperation in Ramallah that Israel better take seriously and try to find ways to engage in diplomatic talk on a two-state solution.”


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Israel

Israel slams Palestinian leader over anti-Trump speech

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Central Council, at his presidency compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, January 14, 2018. Israeli officials slammed his criticism of US President Donald Trump for the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Photo: EPA-EFE

(FILES) This file photo taken on May 23, 2017 shows US President Donald Trump (L) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Donald Trump's first year in office has been a gripping spectacle of scandal, controversy and polarization that has utterly transformed the way Americans and their president interact. Many presidents have tried to bypass a critical media -- from Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats to Barack Obama's interviews with YouTubers. But Trump has taken that into overdrive on Twitter.From one day to the next, he is rarely out of the headlines or off the air, permeating every facet of public life. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (C) arrives for a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 14, 2018. Abbas said that Israel has "ended" the landmark Oslo peace accords of the 1990s with its actions. / AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the India-Israel Business Summit in New Delhi on January 15, 2018. Benjamin Netanyahu hailed a "new era" in ties with India on January 15 as he signed a series of deals during the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister in 15 years. Netanyahu made the comment after talks with Narendra Modi, who made history in July when he became the first Indian leader ever to visit Israel. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA

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