The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Thursday strongly condemned a statement made by U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, following the terrorist attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria, in which Rabbi Raziel Shevach was murdered.
Greenblatt placed blame for the attack squarely on “Palestinian terrorists,” and said that Palestinian Arab glorification of murder was hindering peace with Israel.
On Thursday, the PA’s “foreign ministry” blasted Greenblatt for saying the PA supported terrorism.
"The Ministry affirms that these biased American statements represent prejudiced ideological positions that are hostile to the Palestinian people and do not serve the efforts to revive the peace process," it said, according to the PA’s Wafa news agency, referring to both Greenblatt’s comment as well as to the statement by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who tweeted that the Palestinian Arabs were to blame for the fact that there is no peace with Israel.
Those statements “also contradict the concept of an equal and balanced mediator in the peace process and the negotiations between the two parties," it added.
The ministry said that it was not surprised by these biased positions "as they are issued by officials who embrace settler ideologies and thoughts, and are connected to Israeli settlers through a web of shared interests and ties, not merely by U.S. officials.”
“Therefore, their positions and visions are considered irrelevant to the reality of the conflict, especially that their positions are dealt with through an expansive colonial perspective and lens," it charged.
The PA is already angered by Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and has upped its rhetoric in the U.S. in recent weeks.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has announced that the PA would "no longer accept" any peace plan proposed by the United States, saying it “has proven to be a dishonest mediator in the peace process.”
In addition, the PA had also planned to boycott a visit by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to the region, which was ultimately postponed and will now take place on January 22.