RAMALLAH, March 16, 2011 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday said that Israel has blamed the Palestinians for the killing of a family of Israelis in Itamar settlement in the West Bank before the truth was even known.

He made this comment at the start of his speech at the opening session of the PLO’s Central Council meeting in Ramallah.

“Regarding the family that was killed in the settlement of Itamar, we said it was an inhuman and immoral crime,” said Abbas. “But there is insistence on blaming the Palestinian people before the investigation reveals the truth about who the killer was. I do not know why this persistence and why they insist on this position even though the facts are not yet known?” he said.

Abbas said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him he was ready to cooperate in the investigation to reach conclusions.

“They are investigating now, but there is no news about who committed this crime,” he said.

However, Abbas added, “there are crimes committed daily by settlers. This does not justify that and it does not mean that if there are crimes there should crimes in the opposite. But we have to say, and the international community has to know, that our villages are being attacked on a daily basis, and so our mosques, our homes and our olive trees are cut down. The international community and the Israeli public should talk about these crimes and say these are crimes and the others are crimes.”

Abbas said he was anxiously waiting for the results of the Israeli investigation to know who the murderer was “so that he can be punished for his inhuman and immoral act.”

M.A.