Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked a claim from the Palestinian Authority that blamed Israel for massacring its own civilians on Oct. 7, saying that the claim was “utterly preposterous.”
On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority issued a statement in which it claimed that many of the deaths on Oct. 7 were due to indiscriminate fire from Israel Defense Forces helicopters, specifically at the Supernova music festival. In a response soon after, Netanyahu decried the claim as a “complete reversal of truth.”
“Today, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said something utterly preposterous. It denied that it was Hamas that carried out the horrible massacre at the nature festival near Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “It actually accused Israel of carrying out that massacre. This is a complete reversal of truth.”
The Israeli prime minister then pointed out that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, “who in the past has denied the existence of the Holocaust, today is denying the existence of the Hamas massacre, and that’s unacceptable.”
“My goal is that the day after we destroy Hamas, any future civil administration in Gaza does not deny the massacre, does not educate its children to become terrorists, does not pay for terrorists, and does not tell its children that their ultimate goal in life is to see the destruction and dissolution of the State of Israel,” he concluded. “That’s not acceptable, and that is not the way to achieve peace.”
Today, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said something utterly preposterous. It denied that it was Hamas that carried out the horrible massacre at the nature festival near Gaza. It actually accused Israel of carrying out that massacre. This is a complete reversal of truth… pic.twitter.com/3omrplNDP1
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 19, 2023
Netanyahu’s statement spells trouble for the Biden administration, as the Palestinian Authority was touted as the leading candidate to take over the Gaza Strip post-war by President Joe Biden himself just one day prior.
“As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” he wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post on Saturday.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority circulated a document that claimed that many of the deaths during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack were due to Israeli aircraft blindly firing at the Supernova concert without distinguishing between militants and Israeli civilians,” the Times of Israel reported. It claimed that Israel “fabricated” media material to justify the ground invasion of Gaza, and called on the United Nations to conduct an investigation.
Tensions have risen drastically in the West Bank over the past month, with Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians and Palestinians attacking Israeli police.
