Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned Tuesday’s massacre in a Jerusalem synagogue – and also called for an end of Israeli “incitement” after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told him to do so.
Kerry called Abbas after the attack, Israel Radio reported. He also expressed his sympathy to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who told Kerry that Abbas is directly inciting terror.
Abbas issued a statement that “we condemn the murders” Tuesday morning but he also added that “we condemn violence no matter where it comes from.” He also said Israel must stop” incitement’ by allowing Knesset Members to ascend the Temple Mount.
One hour before Abbas’ statement, the official Facebook page of Fatah, the party Abbas leads, praised the murders of Jews while they were praying.
Hamas, which is part of the unity government with Abbas, said the attack was a “natural response to ongoing Israeli crimes against the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and he urged Arabs to carry out more attacks.
The Islamic Jihad stated, “The operation in Jerusalem was a natural reaction to the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation and its settlers,” according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency.
The Popular Resistance Committees described the attack as “heroic” and a response to “the Israeli occupation’s crimes against our people and our holy places in occupied Jerusalem.”
