JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is “always ready for genuine peace” while taking issue with a statement in Washington, D.C., by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the Palestinians “teach their children peace.”
Abbas and President Donald Trump met at the White House on Wednesday and gave statements to the media.
“I heard President Abbas yesterday say that they teach, Palestinians teach their children peace. That’s unfortunately not true,” Netanyahu said Thursday during a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu in Jerusalem. “They name their schools after mass murderers of Israelis and they pay terrorists.
“But I hope that it’s possible to achieve a change and to pursue a genuine peace. This is something Israel is always ready for. I’m always ready for genuine peace.”
Netanyahu also said that he “look(s) forward to discussing with President Trump the best ways to advance peace.”
During their joint statement during the White House welcoming ceremony, Trump called on Abbas to address incitement.
“There can be no lasting peace unless the Palestinian leaders speak in a unified voice against incitement to violence and hate, there’s such hatred, but hopefully there won’t be such hatred for very long,” he said.
Abbas said his government was teaching its young people peace.
“We are raising our youth, our children and our grandchildren, on a culture of peace,” he said.
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