Palestinian leader violates taboo on refugees

By Amy Teibel

Published November 4, 2012 4:00am ET

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Palestinian leader violates taboo on refugees — Palestinians march during a protest against president Mahmoud Abbas in the Jabaliya Refugee Camp, northern Gaza Strip Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Gazans protested against Abbas' remarks at an Israeli television that suggested millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants would not be able to return to the places they fled, or were forced to flee, during the fighting surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) | Hatem Moussa

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian president has set off a strident debate by shattering a once-inviolable taboo, publicly suggesting his people would have to relinquish claims to ancestral homes in Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas’ comments on the refugee issue, made in an interview on Israeli TV over the weekend, triggered hot responses from Palestinians and Israelis alike.

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