Erekat: PA disappointed by Obama speech

PLO official Saeb Erekat said Monday that the Palestinian Authority was disappointed with US President Barack Obama's recent speech at an AIPAC conference. "This speech is part of Obama’s election campaign," Erekat told Ma'an. "Unfortunately, the speech ignored the requirements for peace as it did not touch on urging Israel to accept the two-state solution, halt settlement activities, and stop imposing facts on the ground." Erekat said the speech at AIPAC's policy conference in Washington on Sunday showed "unprecedented support" to Israel, and the PLO official urged Arab nations to give priority to Arab interests just as the US supported their own interests abroad. Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center in the United States, said on Sunday that Netanyahu was pressuring the US president into "a position where Obama's reelection interests clash with American national interests," the Institute for Middle East Understanding reported.