Hamas head: Mahmoud Abbas lying about Israel to fool America
The former spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ statements to the West are designed “to trick the Americans.” The Blaze adds that Abbas stated that his sympathies are more in line with the Hamas view opposing Israel’s right to exist.
photo Ron Almo
Ihab al-Ghussein wrote on Facebook Sunday that Abbas in private meetings told Hamas officials that he has crafted his public statements recognizing Israel’s right to exist to dupe the U.S., according to a translation.
The Obama administration announced it would work with the new Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas and the Abbas-headed Fatah party.
Here’s the Facebook post:
”You know what Mahmoud Abbas says behind closed doors?? He says: ‘Guys, let me [continue] saying what I say to the media. Those words are meant for the Americans and the occupation (i.e., Israel), not for you [Hamas]. What’s important is what we agree on among ourselves.”“In other words, when I go out [publicly] and say that the government is my [Abbas] government and it recognizes ‘Israel’ and so on, fine – these words are meant to trick the Americans,” al-Ghussein posted, according to the translation. “The problem really isn’t with him [Abbas], the problem is with whoever believes him. Ha, Ha, Ha!”
Al-Ghussein referred to a previous case of alleged deception, saying that in 2006, Abbas said: “‘Don’t harp on everything I tell the media, forget about the statements in the media.’”
The U.S. State Department last week defended its willingness to work with the new unity government, describing it as “technocratic” in nature.
Hamas is officially designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization and while Abbas has publicly insisted the government recognizes Israel’s right to exist, Hamas remains committed to the armed struggle against Israel and would continue to try to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
