Mahmoud Abbas is on a three day trip to Germany to try to find yet another way to avoid direct talks with Israel by enlisting others to pressure Israel instead, without Palestinians having to make any compromises.
In the name of "peace."
Before his meetings with Angela Merkel, he spoke at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation NGO. According to Arab media, he said that Germany could play an important role in mediating peace.
Abbas also said "The nation of Palestine, throughout its long history, has been a beacon of radiating and generosity, and our people are an extension of the 3500 year old Canaanite civilization 3,500 years ago, with urban communities thousands of years old."
Both his assertions that Palestinians seek real peace and that they are Canaanites are equally true.
Some national leaders get pilloried for playing fast and loose with the facts. And some are honored for it.
(German speakers who want to mine his speech for other doozies can watch it here.)