Abbas aide: PLO planning lawsuit against Liberman

Palestinian report doesn't specify for what the PLO seeks to sue Israeli FM, but aide decries Liberman's call to replace Abbas.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN 370 (R) (photo credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN 370 (R)
(photo credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
The PLO is beginning the process of filing a lawsuit against Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported Sunday, citing a political adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Although the report offered no details on what the lawsuit would seek grievances for, or in what legal forum or jurisdiction it would be filed, Nimir Hammad told Ma’an that the PLO had appointed a legal committee and that lawyers would consult with legal experts from the United States, Israel and Europe.
Discussing the possibility of a lawsuit, Hammad told Ma’an, “The international community should not remain silent before incitement.”
Earlier this month, Hammad said Abbas’s security had been stepped up following comments by Liberman calling for Abbas to be replaced. There is no chance for peace as long as Abbas is the Palestinian Authority president, Liberman said from New York following Abbas’s speech to the UN General Assembly.
In September, Liberman told Army Radio that Abbas is “living on borrowed time” and that nothing could save the PA president’s “rotten regime.”
Leaders in Jerusalem also came down on Liberman following his statement in New York, primarily from Defense Minister Ehud Barak who distanced the government from the foreign minister’s comments. Liberman’s attacks on Abbas, Barak said, harm Israeli interests.
A source in Liberman’s office issued the following response: “Since the Palestinians understand that Liberman is revealing to the whole world the true face of Abbas as a peace obstacle, they are losing their heads and taking ridiculous steps.”
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.