Abbas says outrageous things to Obama, media let it slide

Whenever Bibi Netanyahu visits the White House, every word and gesture and demeanor is micro-analyzed to find indications of friction or combativeness or discomfort.

Yet three days ago Mahmoud Abbas visited President Obama and said some outrageous things that were roundly ignored by the media.

I would also like to affirm what you have said, that we are working for a solution that is based on international legitimacy and also the borders -- the 1967 borders so that the Palestinians can have their own independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital and so that we can find a fair and lasting solution to the refugee problem.

Obama said none of what Abbas claimed he said.

This is an old Abbas trick - to twist any conciliatory words said with respect to his pseudo-nation into what he wants to have been said. But since the original words were meant to be friendly, it would be undiplomatic to complain about how he is lying. So the national leaders let it slide and Abbas can give the impression that everyone agrees with his side.

We don’t have any time to waste. Time is not on our side, especially given the very difficult situation that the Middle East is experiencing and the entire region is facing. We hope that we would be able to seize this opportunity to achieve a lasting peace.

Abbas has never acted like a person for whom time is running out. Quite the contrary.

Abbas has been stonewalling against negotiations for years. He has said that he has plenty of time to wait for the international community to pressure Israel. Here his lie is meant to do the same - to pretend that he feels a sense of urgency when his intent is to make the West panic and pressure Israel more.

Since 1988 and into 1993, we have been extending our hands to our Israeli neighbors so that we can reach a fair and lasting peace to this problem. Since 1988, we have recognized international legitimacy resolutions and this was a very courageous step on the part of the Palestinian leadership. And in 1993, we recognized the state of Israel.

Int 1993, at the same moment that the PLO sid it recognized Israel, it also stated that they have given up on armed conflict and will exclusively use negotiations to deal with Israel. That was shown to be a lie during the deadly intifada. In other words, their words are meaningless, and provably so.

Mr. President, we have an agreement with Israel, that was brokered by Mr. Kerry concerning the release of the fourth batch of prisoners and we are hopeful that the fourth batch will be released by the 29th of March because this will give a very solid impression about the seriousness of these efforts to achieve peace.

This may be the most offensive thing of all.

Israel released over 75 convicted terrorists, the majority of whom have been involved in murders of civilians. This was because of pressure from the US in order to even bring Abbas, kicking and screaming, to the table. Abbas, meanwhile, treated these murderers as heroes and gave them well-paying jobs simply because they killed Jews.

And now Abbas is lecturing Israel that it is not serious about peace unless it releases more murderers to be honored by Abbas? 

These statements are disgusting. They would be considered scandalous had any other world leader tried to say them to the President's face.

But Abbas - the Holocaust denying, terror cheerleading, corrupt dictator - is regarded as being above public criticism by the US and the mainstream media.

And if he can get away with these appalling and untruthful statements in the White House, then what incentive does he have for keeping any of his promises to Israel?