The recent terror wave in Israel is “treacherous”, Congressman Peter King, the Representative for New York's 2nd congressional district, told Arutz Sheva in a special interview on Thursday.
“This is an example of what Israel has to live with every day,” he said, adding, “The fact is you have Palestinian terrorists and no matter how much Israel tries to reach out, no matter how much the international community tries to justify the Palestinians, the fact is Israel lives under the gun, lives under the knife, and their people are always at risk.”
“Too many people outside Israel, including people outside the United States, don’t realize how dangerous it is to be an Israeli in Israel,” continued King.
Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said King, “has too often tried to have it both ways. He’s tried to pose as a world statesman but the reality is that too often he looks the other way and even encourages Palestinian violence.”
Abbas should have condemned these attacks the moments they began, he added, and warned, “[Abbas] also has to watch what he says because words do have consequences. And for him to say the Oslo Accords no longer apply, he’s basically saying ‘it’s back to war’. He has to know that’s how the Palestinians on the ground are going to interpret it.”
Abbas “is not a real partner [for peace]. It’s really up to the Israelis to decide how much they want to trust him,” said King. “They have to do what they have to do to protect themselves against terrorism and they have to decide how much they trust Abu Mazen and how much they want to deal with him.”
King was also asked about the deal between Iran and the West and said it was “terrible”.
“It’s terrible to Israel, it’s terrible to the world and it’s terrible to the United States,” he continued, warning that the deal strengthened Iran.
“Quite frankly, while the immediate danger is to Israel, the ultimate danger is to the world, and that obviously includes the United States, because we are the ‘Great Satan’ in the eyes of Iran. Whatever Israel has to defend itself, it has to do.”