On March 19, 2018, in a speech at a meeting of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and PLO leadership in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas attacked the U.S.'s conduct in the region and said that the "so-called 'Arab Spring'... is in fact an 'American Spring,'" that began in Gaza with the 2007 Hamas coup. Its aim, he said, was "to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, so that there will be no united Palestinian state," and added that Hamas had received guarantees from the U.S. for doing so. The Trump administration, he said, was implementing its plan to destroy the Palestinian national enterprise "by declaring Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, by deciding to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem... and by considering the settlements to be legal." He added that U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman supports the settlements, and he and his family are themselves settlers; he went on to curse him, calling him "son of a dog."
These statements are additional evidence of deterioration in the relationship between the Trump administration and the PA. Previously, on January 14, 2018, 'Abbas announced that the Arab Spring had originated in the U.S., rejected the Trump administration's demand that the PA stop its payments to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists and the families of Palestinian "martyrs," and said that the PA no longer accepts the U.S. as a mediator between the PA and Israel.[1]
Following 'Abbas's March 19 statements, the Fatah movement, which 'Abbas heads, posted on its social media accounts a poster with an image of Ambassador Friedman along with the hashtag in Arabic "#Colonialist, Settler, Son Of A Dog." It should be noted that in official PA media reports of 'Abbas's statements, the "son of a dog" invective is omitted.[2]
To view 'Abbas's March 19 statements on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Below are translated excerpts of 'Abbas's March 19 statements, and Fatah's social media post of Ambassador Friedman:
Statements By 'Abbas, March 19, 2018
'Abbas: "I have said thousands of times that the so-called 'Arab Spring,' which is lauded by some simple-minded idiots, incapable of thinking, is in fact an 'American Spring,' which began in Gaza. We all know how [Hamas] joined the elections and then staged a coup, having received many [American] guarantees, both implicit and in public, because the U.S. wants to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, so that there will be no united Palestinian state. This is something we should know. We must acknowledge the truth. We must not avoid the truth any longer.
"The destruction of the Palestinian national enterprise is a plot that the Trump administration has begun to implement, by declaring Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, by deciding to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, by stopping its funding of UNRWA, and by considering the settlements to be legal. This has been declared by several American officials, led by their ambassador in Tel Aviv, David Friedman, who said that 'they are building on their land.'
"You son of a dog! Building on their land? He himself is a settler from a family of settlers, yet he is the American ambassador in Tel Aviv! What can we possibly expect from him?"
Fatah Poster Of Friedman With "#Colonialist, Settler, Son Of A Dog" Hashtag
As noted, also on March 19, following 'Abbas's statements, the Fatah movement, which 'Abbas heads, posted on its social media a poster with an image of Ambassador Friedman with the hashtag in Arabic "#Colonialist, Settler, Son Of A Dog."
Fatah's poster of Amb. Friedman (Source: Facebook.com/officialfateh1965, March 19, 2018)
[1] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 6371, Mahmoud Abbas: The Plo Should Reexamine Its Agreements With Israel; We Will No Longer Accept The U.S. As Mediator, January 14, 2018.
[2] For example, in reports by the official news agency Wafa.ps, March 19, 2017.
