Chief Palestinian Negotiator: Netanyahu has Destroyed Arab ‘Culture of Peace’

A senior aide for the Palestinian Authority’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat was arrested by PA security forces on suspicion of spying for Israel. In an interview about the arrest, Erekat said Netanyahu has destroyed the Arab’s “culture of peace.”

Erekat expressed “shock and surprise” over charges that one of his aides leaked information about the PA’s positions on negotiations with Israel for over two decades.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 on Monday, Erekat refused to reveal the identity of the aide, but noted that an investigation was being conducted.

“The law will take its course,” Erekat asserted. “I say the suspect is innocent until proven guilty.”

Erekat said this was not the first time spies have been caught from within his own offices, and that Israel routinely uses high-level PA officials to spy on PA activities.

Palestinian security forces corroborated Erekat’s claim, and said an extensive manhunt will be launched to expose the many spies operating in PA-controlled territories.

Regarding the halt in negotiations with Israel, Erekat said he had “sent a letter to all of the EU’s foreign ministers updating them on the ‘achievements’ of the Netanyahu government with regard to settlements, land confiscation, and destruction of the two-state solution.”

He added, “I think Netanyahu has succeeded in destroying the culture of peace from the minds of our people.”

Erekat did not mention the regular PA incitement to violence that has helped to drive the current so-called Palestinian wave of terror. He also failed to mention that the PA refuses to negotiate with Israel and walked away from numerous advanced Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Erekat also did not speak about the culpability of his own organization’s militia, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a State Department-declared terrorist organization responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks.