BICOM

Israeli Government officials today criticised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to accept an Iranian invitation to attend a conference of non-aligned countries in Tehran at the end of next month.

“Abbas has to get off the fence and decide whom he is with,” one official told the Jerusalem Post. “He cannot on the one hand say he believes in peace and reconciliation, and on the other hand embrace Hamas and the Iranian leadership.” The official said Abbas could not tell Israel he was a partner for peace “if he is a partner with these extreme elements.” Even in the Arab world, the official added, people are cautious about going to Iran.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian invited Abbas to the summit on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s behalf, during a meeting between the two in Jordan. The meeting will take place between 30-31 August in Tehran.

One diplomatic official in Jerusalem has cautioned against reading too much into Abbas’s acceptance of the invitation. “This is not a bilateral meeting,” the official told the Post. “It is a conference of the non-aligned bloc that will include countries with whom Israel has good ties, such as India and Brazil.”

The official added that the question should not be as much why Abbas is attending, but rather why the Non- Aligned Movement is holding a meeting in Iran in the first place.