The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 03:56 PM

Abbas Condemns Deadly Palestinian Shooting That Killed 3 Israelis, Two Days After It Took Place

JERUSALEM – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned a deadly Palestinian shooting attack that killed three Israelis, two days after it took place.

Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh published a statement condemning the attack late Thursday on the Palestinian government-run Wafa news agency site.

A Palestinian killed three Israelis and seriously wounded another before he was shot dead at a West Bank settlement near Jerusalem.

Abbas has long been a critic of violence, but has remained quiet in the past when attacks against Israelis took place in the West Bank. He had been under heavy pressure to condemn Tuesday's shootings.

Abbas' condemnation came as President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Jason Greenblatt, is in the region attempting to breathe life into peace talks, which last collapsed in 2014.