Abbas Rejects Israeli Efforts to Stop Palestinian Elections

A Palestinian official confirmed to The Media Line that PA President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israeli efforts to halt the upcoming Palestinian elections.

Munir al-Jaghoub, the head of Fatah’s information department in the Office of Mobilization and Organization, said that Abbas used an Arab proverb to dismisses attempts by Israelis to intervene in the Palestinian elections, scheduled for next month.

In an interview with Palestine TV, Jibril Rajoub, the secretary of the Fatah movement, said the head of the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, Nadav Argaman, tried to stop the party’s efforts to create a joint list with Hamas.

“He visited the Palestinian presidential compound and made threats to all of us,” Rajoub said.

The Israeli official who said he was carrying a message from the Israeli prime minister was reportedly accompanied by an American official.

Abbas answered the Israeli official, who is fluent in Arabic, using an Arabic proverb: “Drink your coffee and may God be with you,” which is a polite way of rejecting a request.