Shimon Peres, the Israeli president who will conclude a seven-year term next month as the most popular politician in Israel, told US President Barack Obama on June 25 that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was the best Palestinian partner Israel has ever had. The following day, Minister of Economy and Trade Naftali Bennett lambasted Peres, calling his statement “delusional” while dubbing the Palestinian president an “archterrorist.”
All the while, chief negotiator of the now defunct negotiations, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, continues at every turn to lavish praise on Abbas. She even declared that she will continue to meet with him despite a prohibition to do so since the negotiations between the two parties were discontinued.