The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that if the Palestinians truly desire peace with Israel, they must first “come clean” and put an end to “rewarding terrorism”. “I think the first test of peace is to say to them, ‘Hey, you want peace? Prove it. Confront terrorism, stop rewarding terrorism, stop paying it terrorists'”, Netanyahu said from his office in Jerusalem. “It could be more than a billion dollars that are given to terrorists”, Netanyahu continued. “I’m not talking about Hamas. I’m talking about the mainline Palestinian Authority headed by the president, who is going to see (US President Donald) Trump in Washington”. Netanyahu’s comments came just a day after Abbas granted an interview to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shibun, where the Palestinian leader appeared to moderate his tone over restarting peace negotiations, saying “I am ready to meet the prime minister of Israel any time in Washington under the patronage of President Trump”. Netanyahu, however, currently has no plans to visit Washington next month.
