Islam Times - Arab League chief slams Israel as bastion of 'fascism, discrimination'

Islam Times - The head of the largest Arab grouping has described Israel as a den of “fascism and racial discrimination” after Tel Aviv rejected a new initiative to resolve its conflict with the Palestinians.

Israel “has truly become today the last bastion of fascism, colonialism and racial discrimination in the world,” Arab League chiefl Nabil el-Araby said following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Saturday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also denounced Israel for stonewalling the so-called peace negotiations.

"We tried to implement the signed agreements and respect our obligations, but the Israelis have refused (to observe theirs)," he told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

He also blamed increasing "radicalization" in Israel on the appointment of hawkish Avigdor Lieberman as Israel’s minister of military affairs.

“Israel has undergone huge radicalization in the last few years, which even senior Israeli officials acknowledge, and which brought Lieberman into the administration,” Abbas said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the French initiative for a multinational conference to re-kindle Israeli-Palestinian talks, and called for direct negotiations.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has dismissed the Israeli proposal for direct negotiations, calling it an attempt to "buy time."