RAMALLAH, February 8, 2018 (WAFA) – Responding to statements by the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman criticizing the Palestinian Authority, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation and the settlement policy are the main reason for violence in the region.

Friedman, a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements and settlers who regularly donates money and support for the illegal Jewish settlement in the occupied territories, which are in violation of international law, lashed out at what he said in a tweet as “Palestinian leader” not speaking out against the killing of  settlers in the West Bank.

“The statements by the US ambassador lead us to wonder about the ambassador’s relationship with the occupation: Does he represent the US or Israel?” wondered Abu Rudeineh.

“The only way to end violence in the region and the world is to solve the Palestinian issue based on United Nations resolutions that call for an end to the occupation and the creation of the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

The official spokesman said that “the ambassador’s advice and consultations, which are not aimed at achieving a just peace based on international legality, have led to this crisis in US-Palestinian relations.”

He concluded: “Rather than contributing to the creation of atmospheres for peace, Ambassador Friedman is instead making the situation more tense by providing pretexts for such acts of violence, which we reject. We affirm that the policy of President and the Palestinian leadership is peaceful popular resistance. We stress our rejection and condemnation of this harmful behavior by Ambassador Friedman.”

M.K.