*WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday condemned Palestinian presidentMahmud Abbas, after he called the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman a“son of a dog.”*

“The time has come for President Abbas to choose between hateful rhetoricand concrete and practical efforts to improve the quality of life of hispeople and lead them to peace and prosperity,” top Trump aide JasonGreenblatt said in a terse statement.

“Notwithstanding his highly inappropriate insults against members of theTrump administration, the latest iteration being his insult of my goodfriend and colleague Ambassador Friedman, we are committed to thePalestinian people and to the changes that must be implemented for peacefulcoexistence.”

Abbas earlier told Palestinian leaders in Ramallah that Friedman was a“settler and a son of a dog,” in an angry outburst against US policy.

Relations between Abbas’s government and Trump’s administration have brokendown since the White House recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital inDecember.

Despite that, Greenblatt said that Washington would still press ahead witha peace plan.

“We are finalizing our plan for peace and we will advance it whencircumstances are right,” he said. –APP / AFP