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Palestinians and Peres: A love-hate relationship

Palestinians insist that while the late Israeli leader Shimon Peres was an Israeli patriot, he bears major responsibility for the plight that Palestinians find themselves in today.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres ( L) and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (R) arrive for a meeting at the Gaza airport in Rafah September 26, 2001. Arafat and Peres met for a long awaited meeting to discuss steps to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. - RTXKROT

The atmosphere at the Palestinian ministry was as cold as ice. News had come of the condolence statement issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the death of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

The press was asking for comments, but no one at the ministry wanted to talk to the press. A senior Palestinian official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said, “If we say what we want, we will be going against what the president said. At the same time, no one wants his or her name associated with a whitewashing of Peres’ bloody history.” 

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