RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he would should take care of Benjamin Netanyahu, the previous Israeli Prime Minister who won reelection this month, although he believed Netanyahu was not eager about making peace.
“I knew Netanyahu for a very long time, for the reason that Nineties … He’s a person who doesn’t imagine in peace but I haven’t any other alternative but to take care of him,” Abbas told Palestine Television.
The Palestinian leader, whose authority has limited control within the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said there should be a peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict.
The interview, which was also broadcast by Egyptian television, was recorded on Friday.
“I actually have an issue with Israel, Israel occupies my land and my country. Who’s the prime minister? Netanyahu. I’m forced to take care of him,” said Abbas.
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Netanyahu, who in his previous term forged normalisation with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, said on Sunday he sought to succeed in peace deals with other Arab countries, something that might eventually help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since 2014.
(Reporting Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Additional reporting and Writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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