PA President Abbas recently said that recent terror attacks in Israel spring from Palestinian despair. A spokesman for his partner party, Hamas in Gaza, scoffed. He tweeted, "Our young people of their own accord, not because of despair."✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡✡
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said last week that the recent upswing in terrorist attacks is a symptom of Palestinian despair. Hamas quickly begged to differ, attributing the violence instead to a culture of resistance.
Speaking to students of Palestinian origin in Venezuela, Abbas explained that incitement was not behind the decision to carry out attacks, "rather, they [young Palestinians] have lost hope."
He added that he is prepared to return to the negotiation table if Israel halts settlement construction and releases additional prisoners. Abbas went on to say that the Palestinians would not compromise on the right of return, stressing that 6 million Palestinian refugees were waiting to come home.
In response to Abbas' comments, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan posted on Twitter: "To Mahmoud Abbas: Our young people are carrying knives of their own accord, because they belong to a people of resistance, which has not been conquered by the brutality of the occupier or security coordination with it, not because of despair.
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This is a lightly edited version of the original artile published by Israel Hayom at http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=36539
