Abbas ‘impatient’ to know who carried out Itamar killings

PA president tells Fatah leaders Israel insists on accusing Palestinians for murder of Fogel family members before investigation finished.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas311 reuters (photo credit: reuters)
Abbas311 reuters
(photo credit: reuters)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday he did not know why the Israeli government was insisting on accusing Palestinians of involvement in last Friday’s killings in Itamar before the investigation is over.
Abbas told Fatah leaders in Ramallah that Israel was insisting on accusing the Palestinian people “before the investigation revealed the identity of the killer.”RELATED:
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His remarks came as PA-controlled media outlets continued to cast doubt on the identity of the perpetrators, one hinting that it could have been foreign workers employed in the settlement, and one saying it could have been an “inside job.”
Abbas said he had informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the PA was prepared to help in the investigation into the killing of the five members of the Fogel family.
“They [Israel] are now investigating, and there’s no news about who perpetrated this crime,” Abbas said. “I don’t know why they are insisting on accusing the Palestinian people.”
Abbas reiterated his condemnation of the killings, dubbing them “inhuman and immoral.” He added that settlers were carrying out “daily crimes” against Palestinians, “but this does not justify that. This means that if there are crimes, that there should be crimes in return.” The international community must know that settlers are targeting villages, mosques, houses and olive trees every day, Abbas said.
“The international community and Israeli society need to know about these crimes because this is a crime, and that is a crime too,” he said. “We are waiting impatiently to know who committed this crime so that he would receive a deterring punishment for his inhuman and immoral crime.”