A top aide to acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas has accused US Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney of dashing hopes of peace in the Middle East.

Saeb Erakat was reacting on Thursday to recent scandalous remarks by Romney who said Palestinians have “no interest whatsoever” in peace. 

"No one stands to gain more from peace than the Palestinians, and no one stands to lose from the absence of peace like the Palestinians," the Associated Press quoted Erekat as saying. 

In a video footage secretly taken from a donor speech on Tuesday, Romney said: “Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish.” 

Erekat noted that Romney’s remarks implied his support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, saying he is "working against democracy and peace". 

Another senior Palestinian figure said on Tuesday that Romney’s comments were “absolutely unacceptable” and accused him of spending all of his time “pandering to the Israeli Lobby.” 

“He seems to think of himself as a mind reader since he claims to know what Palestinian intentions are,” Hanan Ashrawi said. 

www.presstv.ir is the source for this article. 
KA/MA