In an interview with Ha'aretz Sunday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sharply criticized Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas over his speech at the UN last week. Lieberman called the speech, in which Abbas blamed all of the PA's woes on Israel, a “spit in the face” at Israel. He said that Israel needed to respond sharply to the speech, especially in light of the fact that Abbas intends to again seek UN recognition of a PA state and full membership of the PA in the General Assembly.

Among the accusations Abbas hurled at Israel in the speech was that Israel was running a “terror operation” against the PA, via Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, whom he called the “settler gang,” and that Israel was “choking” the PA's economy and population, especially in Jerusalem. “In recent years Israel has denuded the Oslo Accord of all meaning,” he said.