Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the Geneva Initiative of altering his comments in an ad , partly paid for by the United States and which promotes the PA as a “peace partner” with Israel.
"Unfortunately, my statements were changed... as if I were apologizing to the Israeli nation. This is the opposite to what I said,” Erekat declared. “I was speaking as a negotiator and I mean that as Palestinian and Israeli negotiators we had been unable to come up with a solution after many years.
"I never intended to say sorry to the Israeli nation; they are the ones who should be sorry for what they have done to Palestinians and the practices that have humiliated our nation. Palestinians are the nation who deserve an apology."
The advertising campaign included a YouTube video, in which Erekat states, ““Shalom to you in Israel, I know we have disappointed you, I know we have been unable to deliver peace for the last 19 years."
The apparent apology was reported by the Washington Post, which reported that “Erekat "apologized to Israelis for past mistakes and reassured them that Palestinians are committed to peace alongside Israel." Geneva Initiative officials said the “misunderstanding” occurred because Erekat meant that the failure to achieve was because of the Israeli and PA negotiators, and not Arabs.
Already faced with widespread criticism from Arabs for even agreeing to talk with Israel, PA leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad asked the Geneva Initiative to remove their pictures from the campaign promotion.
Erekat added, “I agreed to participate at the media campaign prepared by the Geneva initiative in order to make it clear to the Israeli public, who always accuse Palestinians of halting negotiations, that there is a peaceful solution based on a two-state solution despite past failures."