Minister Avi Dichter said Sunday that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s interview with Channel 2 news was intended to strengthen the political left. Dichter told Kol Yisrael radio that Abbas had made a false display of giving up the “right of return” solely in order to hint at PA-Israel talks prior to the elections.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman leveled similar accusations against Abbas. The PA chairman expressed support for the “right of return” in an interview with Egyptian media given shortly after his interview with Channel 2.