The world “is no longer willing to accept” the Palestinian Authority’s glorification of terrorists, a senior Israeli diplomatic official told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
“Until now, people closed their eyes and did nothing,” the official added. “Now the situation has changed, and I think it is a combination of two things. It is a change that began with [United Nations Secretary-General António] Guterres, who took over on January 1, and it continued afterward with the election of [President Donald] Trump and the appointment of [U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki] Haley.”
The official’s comment came shortly after the PA was harshly denounced for naming a women’s center after a Palestinian terrorist who helped massacre 38 people, including 13 kids. Guterres said the PA’s decision was “offensive” while Norway demanded that the funds it donated for the center be returned.
Citing an unnamed American source, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Sunday that Trump rebuked PA President Mahmoud Abbas for his role in supporting terrorism when the two met last week in Bethlehem. “You tricked me in DC! You talked there about your commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me your involvement in incitement,” the president reportedly said.
During his joint appearance with Abbas in Bethlehem, Trump said, “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded.”
Guterres, too, has been outspoken in his belief that Israel should be treated like any other country at the UN and not be subject to double standards.
The secretary-general demanded in March that a UN agency representing 18 Arab nations rescind a controversial anti-Israel report it had issued, which had been co-authored by discredited 9/11 conspiracy theorist Richard Falk.
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