Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened on Sunday to punish officials criticizing Arab countries and their leaders.
“Any Palestinian official who criticizes Arab governments or leaders will be held accountable for harming Palestinian and Arab national security,” Abbas warned on Sunday.
In his surprising statement, Abbas reiterated Palestinian policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of any Arab country or offending their leaders.
The Palestinian President also expressed appreciation to Arab support and the rejection of US President Donald Trump’s decision last December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He has also praised Arab states for endorsing his own February 20 address to the United Nations Security Council, where he had called for a “multilateral international mechanism” to pave the way for Palestinian statehood.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the main problem with statements made by some Palestinian officials lies in their dependence on media reports or personal analysis.
“Those statements are not accurate and do not reflect the point of view of the Palestinian leadership,” the sources said.
According to the sources, Abbas is in good relations with all Arab countries and therefore, does not plan to lose the support of any of them.
“Abbas fully rejects interfering in the game of axes in the region,” the sources added.
The President’s announcement on Sunday reflects his anger following a series of critical statements attributed to senior Palestinian officials claiming that some Arab countries have been pressuring Abbas to accept Trump’s peace plan.
Some Palestinian officials have also claimed that some Arab countries have conspired with the Trump administration to impose the peace plan on the Palestinians.
