Palestinians Hit Romney for Video Comments
Palestinian leaders said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was wrong to accuse them of not seeking peace in a controversial video.
“No one stands to gain more from peace with Israel than Palestinians and no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace than Palestinians,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.
Romney was captured on a secretly recorded video telling donors in May that peace talks with the Palestinians are a waste of time. He also suggested the two-state solution wouldn’t work, even though that goal is part of his party’s official platform, in the video, which was published by Mother Jones magazine.
“Only those who want to maintain the Israeli occupation will claim the Palestinians are not interested in peace,” Erekat said.
Romney has sought to make inroads with Jewish voters by emphasizing his hawkish views on Israel. He recently visited Israel and GOP officials have criticized President Obama for supposedly not supporting the Jewish State strongly enough.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO