U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly warned Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in a phone call not to suspend security cooperation with Israel, according to Arab media.
Kerry’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not deny the report and sidestepped confirming it.
In Friday’s daily press briefing, she was asked specifically if “Kerry during his call warn President Abbas not to suspend security cooperation with Israel?”
Psaki said:
He [Kerry] spoke to President Abbas on Wednesday. They discussed current dynamics between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and the importance of ensuring the financial viability of the Palestinian Authority. The Secretary also detailed his efforts with key stakeholders to prevent a crisis in the West Bank and the way ahead in the coming months.
PA media headlined reported, “Mr. Kerry threatening Abbas of U.S. sanctions if he even dared to stop the security cooperation with Israel.”
So did he or didn’t he?
Psaki did not deny it and simply said, “I just addressed the question of what they discussed, and I think that certainly isn’t consistent with what I just outlined in terms of their call.
That is ‘spokesmen’s talk” for “yes, he did threaten Abbas but I won’t say that.”
The idea that Kerry and Obama are against Israel is only half-true. They also are against the Palestinian Authority. They are against anyone who does not cooperate with Obama’s attempts to fulfill the expectations of the Nobel Prize establishment, which bestowed the president with the Nobel Peace Prize before he had a chance to show he does not deserve it.