"He gave a very extreme speech," Shalom told Israel Radio, "perhaps more extreme" than those of former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), in opening his campaign for the January 9 elections when voters will choose Arafat's successor, said Sunday he demands that Israel withdraw to its pre-1967 borders and release terrorists, including the convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti.
"At a time when there is perhaps a great atmosphere of hope in the region and in the world as a whole, harsh statements such as these are not encouraging. This speech does not bode well," Shalom said.
Abu Mazen promoted his tough campaign platform the same day that the Israeli Cabinet approved government plans for a gradual withdrawal of soldiers from large Arab urban areas prior to the elections.
"They are very, very unpleasant," Shalom said about Abu Mazen's words. "We will do everything that we can at this stage so they can hold proper elections. But we expect that the next day they will begin to take action against incitement and terrorism. Otherwise, it will be more or less as it was under Arafat." Previously, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had demanded an end to incitement before agreeing to any concessions.
Abu Mazen made conciliatory statements towards Israel after being chosen as a temporary replacement to head the PA until the elections. As he toured Arab countries to gain support for proposed renewal of negotiations with Israel, he progressively made more demands and began to raise the issue of the status of Arabs living in other countries.
Facing stiff competition in the election from Barghouti, his speeches suddenly turned more extreme the day after the jailed terrorist resigned from the race. In his speech Sunday, Abu Mazen, dressed in suit and tie, declared he will not compromise on his demands that Jerusalem be the capital of a new Arab state, "right of return" for up to millions of Arabs, and a full Israeli withdrawal from all areas liberated in the Six Day War.
Israeli and world leaders have applauded Abu Mazen's pleas for an end to violence, which he has explained "does not serve national interests" of Arabs. He also did not denounce the terrorist attacks on the Israel-Egyptian border near Rafiah earlier this month, which killed five IDF soldiers.
Shalom said he welcomed Sunday's carefully worded public proclamation by several dozen Arab intellectuals who called for a stop to "actions that reduce the range of [international] support for our cause and harm credibility." They also called on Abu Mazen not to compromise on making Jerusalem an Arab capital, or on bringing a "fair solution" to foreign Arabs.
PA leaders have claimed for years that more than three million Arabs living in foreign countries have the "right of return" to Israel.
"At a time when there is perhaps a great atmosphere of hope in the region and in the world as a whole, harsh statements such as these are not encouraging. This speech does not bode well," Shalom said.
Abu Mazen promoted his tough campaign platform the same day that the Israeli Cabinet approved government plans for a gradual withdrawal of soldiers from large Arab urban areas prior to the elections.
"They are very, very unpleasant," Shalom said about Abu Mazen's words. "We will do everything that we can at this stage so they can hold proper elections. But we expect that the next day they will begin to take action against incitement and terrorism. Otherwise, it will be more or less as it was under Arafat." Previously, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had demanded an end to incitement before agreeing to any concessions.
Abu Mazen made conciliatory statements towards Israel after being chosen as a temporary replacement to head the PA until the elections. As he toured Arab countries to gain support for proposed renewal of negotiations with Israel, he progressively made more demands and began to raise the issue of the status of Arabs living in other countries.
Facing stiff competition in the election from Barghouti, his speeches suddenly turned more extreme the day after the jailed terrorist resigned from the race. In his speech Sunday, Abu Mazen, dressed in suit and tie, declared he will not compromise on his demands that Jerusalem be the capital of a new Arab state, "right of return" for up to millions of Arabs, and a full Israeli withdrawal from all areas liberated in the Six Day War.
Israeli and world leaders have applauded Abu Mazen's pleas for an end to violence, which he has explained "does not serve national interests" of Arabs. He also did not denounce the terrorist attacks on the Israel-Egyptian border near Rafiah earlier this month, which killed five IDF soldiers.
Shalom said he welcomed Sunday's carefully worded public proclamation by several dozen Arab intellectuals who called for a stop to "actions that reduce the range of [international] support for our cause and harm credibility." They also called on Abu Mazen not to compromise on making Jerusalem an Arab capital, or on bringing a "fair solution" to foreign Arabs.
PA leaders have claimed for years that more than three million Arabs living in foreign countries have the "right of return" to Israel.