Abbas refuses to condemn Jerusalem synagogue terror in talks with CIA director – explains ‘why’

The PA leader said it would be “political suicide” for him to denounce the deadly terror attack, considering the anger among Palestinians over last week’s IDF raid that killed nine terrorists.

By JNS

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas told CIA director William Burns in Ramallah on Sunday that security cooperation with Israel will be restored, Channel 12 reported on Monday.

Abbas announced on Jan. 26 that the PA would cease security cooperation following an IDF raid in Jenin in which nine terrorists were killed during fierce clashes.

In his meeting with Burns, Abbas relayed a four-part message, according to the report: 1) Intelligence cooperation with Israel continues; 2) The PA will continue to work to prevent acts of terror; 3) Security cooperation with Israel will be renewed to calm tensions; and 4) that he cannot condemn the recent attacks in Jerusalem as doing so would be “political suicide.”

The PA chairman is expected to repeat this message to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in their meeting on Tuesday, according to the report. Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

During his meeting with Blinken, Abbas is expected to demand an end to Israel’s unilateral measures, an end to the publication of plans for construction in the settlements, an end to the entry of IDF forces into Palestinian cities, the cancellation of Israel’s monetary sanctions against the PA in response to terror funding, and the drawing of a plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abbas also briefed Burns on what he described as the “dangerous developments and the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and the importance of urgent intervention to pressure the Israeli occupation government to stop its unilateral measures and to abide by the signed agreements,” according to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency.

The PA head further “stressed the necessity of restoring the political horizon on the basis of international legitimacy, in order to achieve security and stability for all in the region, and for the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom and independence in their state with [eastern] Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders.”

World Israel News contributed to this report.

Antony BlinkenIsraeli-Palestinian conflictJerusalem terrorMahmoud AbbasPalestinian terror fundingPay for Slay lawUS Mideast policyWilliam Burns