Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have face criticism after the Friday funeral for former Israeli president Peres, who died last week aged 93 after a major stroke.
Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s Justice Minister, said on Sunday in Tel Aviv that Netanyahu should not have shaken Palestinian President Abbas’ hand at the funeral.
Shaked, of the conservative Jewish Home party, said in an interview that she did not know what other action Netanyahu should have taken, but that she disagreed with the gesture.
The minister is the latest figure to criticise how Abbas and Netanyahu interacted during the funeral ceremony in Jerusalem.
Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, of Jewish Home, said that he did not understand how Israeli leaders, which would also include President Reuven Rivlin, could have agreed to shake Abbas’ hand.
A report said that Abbas’ “Fatah party’’ had even felt the need to justify the visit as a chance to raise “in front of the whole world that our people have the right to life and live in peace.”
The report said further that Abbas was heckled at speeches on Saturday in Bethlehem and at Birzeit University, near Ramallah.
It said that Osama Mansour, a high-ranking officer in the Palestinian security forces, was suspended and later arrested on Saturday after criticising Abbas’ attendance on Facebook.
The report revealed that Mansour wrote that “there should be no personal or friendly relations with the occupier, as long as they continue with their arrogant policies against our people,” according to a translated version from Maan.
The report noted that Netanyahu and Abbas occasionally meet at public events, even though the last round of talks between the Israelis and Palestinians failed in 2014. (dpa/NAN)