Abbas: "I told President Obama there was no such thing as "moderate MB members"

Abbas: "I told the president that there was no such thing as "moderate MB members" and that the MB was the mother of all terrorist organizations" (MEMRI).

On November 30, 2014, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas gave an interview to the Egyptian daily Akhbar Al-Yawm, in which he addressed the stalemate in the negotiations with Israel and the Palestinian alternatives to the negotiations, including appealing to the UN, stopping the PA's security coordination with Israel and transferring responsibility for the Palestinian Authority to Israel.

In the interview, 'Abbas reiterated that he did not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, because this contradicted the Palestinian interests by harming Israeli Arabs and preventing the return of the Palestinian refugees. He said that there were six million Palestinian refugees wishing to return to their homes, and he was one of them, and that creative solutions had to be found for the refugee problem, because "we cannot close the door to those who wish to return."

Also in the interview, 'Abbas harshly criticized Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood (MB), calling them "a gang of liars." He said that Hamas was responsible for the outbreak of the fighting in Gaza in July 2014 and for the destruction of Gaza, because it had lied and refused to take responsibility for the killing of the three Israeli teens. He also condemned Hamas for rejecting the Egyptian ceasefire initiative, and said that, on the last day of the war, Hamas begged for a ceasefire with no reservations or conditions. 

In addition, 'Abbas accused Hamas of not being committed to the Palestinian reconciliation and of acting against Fatah members in order to thwart the reconciliation.

'Abbas did not spare criticism of the U.S. administration, slamming it for its policy towards Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). 

According to him, in a conversation with President Obama, he told the president that there was no such thing as "moderate MB members" and that the MB was the mother of all terrorist organizations, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda. 

He recounted that, when the January 25 revolution broke out in Egypt, then-State Secretary Hillary Clinton surprised him by asking him to convince then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to step down.

The following are translated excerpts from 'Abbas' statements in the interview:

I Explained To Obama That There Was No Such Thing As Moderate MB Members; Clinton Asked Me To Persuade Mubarak To Step Down.

"In my recent visits to the U.S. and South Africa, I clarified to everyone that Egypt had saved us and the entire region from the terrorism in the region... In my recent meeting with Obama, he asked me about the situation in Egypt, and I explained to him that the process of democratization [there] was about to be completed. He asked me about the Brothers [i.e., the MB], and I explained to him that there was no such thing as Brothers there. Obama clarified, 'The moderate Brothers,' and I explained to him that the moderate Brothers are only in the U.S., but that they [i.e., the MB] were the ones who had created all the extremist organizations in the region, including ISIS, Jabhat Al-Nusra, and Al-Qaeda. All these terror organizations emerged from the belly of the MB. They will not return to [power in] Egypt again."

"From the outset, I never believed in the Arab Spring. One day, before the January 25 revolution, I was with then-president Hosni Mubarak, and when the events of January 25 began,[then-]U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton phoned me and asked me to phone president Mubarak and persuade him to step down. I asked, What do I have to do with the Egyptian matter?... We are facing chaos, the rise of the MB, or both.

"Mursi did not understand the Palestinian problem. His understanding of the subject was like my understanding of Japanese. He wanted to exploit it to actualize the interests of the MB. If you remember the Giora Eiland plan, he wanted to turn the Sinai territories into the Palestinian state, [and Mursi agreed to this plan].[2] [But] we will not agree to accept an inch of land from Egypt and will not agree that a Palestinian should leave his land...[Moreover,] Mursi wanted to establish a Gaza consulate in Egypt to deepen the internal Palestinian schism…"

'Abbas also warned, "If the current situation continues as it is now, ISIS will also emerge in the West Bank. As for the Gaza Strip – the entire MB is ISIS." Hmmmm..........Obama's BFF Erdogan still loves the MB. Read the full story here.