Palestine’s Foreign Ministry slammed the US for blind bias in favor of Israeli occupation and settlement after US Ambassador David Friedman made controversial remarks on prioritizing Israeli security over the Palestinian state.
The ministry described Friedman as the ambassador of the far-right and Israeli settlers, adding that he merely reiterates words spoken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when it comes to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Friedman had called the two-state solution “problematic” because of its underlying and various meanings.
He said that he has difficulty with the term because it means “so many different things to so many different people.”
Friedman emphasized that “where Palestinian autonomy and Israeli security intersect, we are on the side of Israeli security,”
“It is a very different view than I think has been expressed in the past,” he said.
Palestine’s foreign affairs ministry later condemned Friedman's views as racist.
“Friedman once again proves that he is a disgrace to US diplomacy, and the greatest danger looming over the Palestinian cause, rights of the people and regional peace, security and stability,” it declared.
“The US president's team is not only declaring its positions as totally biased towards the occupation and its policies, but boasting of this bias publicly,” its statement said.
This is not the first time that the Palestinian Authority has lambasted Friedman for his one-sided diplomacy-- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described him a “son of a dog,” a controversial statement at the time.
Friedman’s appointment to head US Israeli-Palestinian negotiations was undesirable for the PA, predating even President Donald Trump's decision on moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Abbas repeatedly refused to meet with Friedman, accusing him of being an extremist and an advocate of Israeli settlements.
