Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) accused President Obama and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton of giving Palestinians a pass on anti-Semitism, incitement, and terrorism in a new statement. Israel has suffered a wave of Palestinian terrorism over the past week, fueled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' calls for violence and unrest.
"Reminiscent of the days when Yasser Arafat talked peace in English and jihad in Arabic," Rubio writes, "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — a man President Obama regularly hails as a peacemaker — is inciting the bloodshed. 'Every drop of blood that has been spilled in Jerusalem is holy blood as long as it was for Allah,' he recently declared on Palestinian television."
The Obama administration has responded by calling on both Palestinians and Israelis to "restore calm," Rubio says, "as if Israel is somehow to blame for being the victim of terrorism."
"By distancing the United States from Israel, President Obama has created an atmosphere that rewards the provocative behavior of the Palestinian Authority. Absolving the guilty, blaming the innocent, and ignoring Palestinian incitement is putting lives at risk. It is long past time for President Obama and Hillary Clinton to call on President Abbas — clearly and publicly — to work to stop the anti-Semitism and terror. And it is also long past time for President Obama and Hillary Clinton to pledge — clearly and publicly — to block the Palestinian campaign to bypass peace with Israel by unilaterally declaring statehood."